Seeking Roots of Consciousness, Scientists Make Dreamers Self-Aware

Researchers have figured out how to make people aware of themselves during a dream: by zapping their sleeping brains with a weak electric current.

The sensation of “Hey, this is a dream!” is known as lucid dreaming. Those who naturally become lucid while dreaming, probably a small segment of the population, also report adventures that are impossible in the real world, such as flying, that feel completely real. Some can even change a dream’s narrative twists and turns to make it less scary—or even more exhilarating. (Related: “Why Do We Dream? To Ease Painful Memories, Study Hints.”)

Lucid dreaming is exciting not only for dreamers but also for neuroscientists, who consider it a window into the study of consciousness. But until now, researchers have been hampered by how hard it is to provoke lucid dreaming in people who don’t do it naturally. A new method published today in Nature Neuroscience might get around this difficulty, making it easier to stimulate lucid dreaming at will.

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That’s pretty cool. Thankfully there’s no danger in fucking with the subconscious

Interesting, but they don’t tell us how long the sleepers remained asleep after lucid dreaming kicked in. I often lucid dream, but usually that’s a signal that I’m soon to wake up, however much I try to stave that off within the dream itself.

Lucid dreaming I found frightening when young, so learnt to manipulate them somewhat. The sound (in particular – thunderously spooky) in addition the imposing imagery were just overwhelmingly monstrous, though the obvious content not generally disturbing . This I always took to be caused by a different shutdown sequence by the brain (the order and/or something wasn’t folding back). So really this was me softening a nightmare, stopping it too as, i’d learnt contrrrol and to wake myself up.

Getting overheated does something similar, only the other night did so and was literally screaming in my head, I’d fallen asleep in front the fire with too many clothes on.

Needing to go the loo while asleep sometimes results in the brain employing blunt instruments to wake me, and hearing noises outside that may need my attention similarly.

I wonder what the voltage and current electrical properties are?

Probably to look for the ‘roots of consciousness’ a good avenue would be the ‘feel of the rendering’ performed by the mind. I’d expect minds have mechanisms that tend to limit this (also).

spend to much time on face book.. i look for the LIKE TAB when i see a post i like but them become confused :) when its not there