Communications of the ACM
Japan Lab Claims Its Software Can Read Dreams
Scientists in Japan say they had found a way to "read" people's dreams, using MRI scanners to unlock some of the secrets of the unconscious mind.
Credit: MIS Asia
Software developed by a Japanese research institute can determine what people are dreaming about by analyzing their brain waves.
A team at the lab of the Advanced Telecommunications Research Institute International (ATR) connected test subjects to an electroencephalogram, had them sleep inside a magnetic-resonance imaging machine, asked what they were dreaming about, and then showed images that corresponded to the general dream categories. The ATR's Brain Information Communication Research Lab created a database of brain activity when dreaming about objects and when actually viewing objects. The researchers say the software was able to match the subject of dreams to one of about 20 general categories, with about 70-percent accuracy.
The method could be used with people who are awake but have trouble expressing themselves, such as people who suffer from hallucinations or are mentally ill. The researchers say ATR's goal is to improve the field of brain-machine interfaces.
From IDG News Service
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