Dream-shaping Tech from MIT麻省理工學院的造夢技術

明迪·魏斯貝格爾 劉莉

MIT scientists have figured out how to manipulate your dreams by combining an app with a sleep-tracking device called Dormio. In their new study， the researchers were able to insert certain topics into a persons dreams， with some pretty bizarre outcomes.

To do so， the researchers at MIT Media Labs Fluid Interfaces—a group that develops wearable systems and interfaces to enhance cognitive skills—used a technique called targeted dream incubation （TDI）.

Prior studies have shown that during a rare dream state known as lucid dreaming， in which a sleeper is aware that a dream is taking place， dreamers can use that awareness to consciously shape aspects of their dreams. TDI takes advantage of an early sleep stage， known as hypnagogia， to achieve a similar result （though not quite “controlling” dreams outright）.

During hypnagogia—a semi-lucid dream state that occurs during the onset of sleep—TDI introduced “targeted information” to a sleeper， “enabling direct incorporation of this information into dream content，” the scientists wrote in a new study， published in the August issue of the journal Consciousness and Cognition. They conducted dream experiments by performing “serial awakenings” during daytime napping sessions in 25 participants.

Subjects first recorded audio prompts in an app， such as， “remember to think of a tree” and “remember to observe your thoughts，” and then prepared for sleep， according to the study.

A hand-worn sleep tracker monitored the subjects heart rate， electrical changes on the skin surface， and the amount their fingers were bent or relaxed， to detect when a sleeper entered hypnagogia and was therefore “open to influence from outside audio cues，” said lead study author Adam Haar Horowitz， a doctoral candidate in MIT Media Labs Fluid Interfaces Group. The Dormio sleep tracker communicated with the app， “which delivers audio at the correct times， and records audio of dream reports” when the subject is awake.

Just as a subject drifted off to sleep and entered hypnagogia， Dormio would coordinate with the app to wake them up with the pre-recorded prompts. This cycle repeated several times， with the sleeper also recording a brief “dream journal” entry into the app when they were awakened.

“Simply put， people tell us whether the prompts appear in their dream，” Haar Horowitz said. “Often， they are transformed—a ‘tree prompt becomes a tree-shaped car—but direct incorporation is easily identified.”

The scientists found that 67% of the subjects dream reports mentioned dreams that incorporated a tree. “I was following the roots with someone and the roots were transporting me to different locations，” one participant recalled. Another mentioned “a tree from my childhood， from my backyard. It never asked for anything.” The same subject， in later awakenings， described “trees splitting into infinite pieces” and “a shaman， sitting under the tree with me， he tells me to go to South America.”

“Dream reports increased in bizarreness and immersion with each awakening，” but the scientists did not develop a universal rating system for the bizarreness of the dreams， the study authors reported.

Dream on

Though some dreaming takes place during hypnagogia， most dreaming happens during rapid eye movement （REM） sleep. Before the brain achieves REM sleep， it passes through three stages of non-REM sleep. First is the transition from wakefulness into sleep， when hypnagogia takes place. This is followed by light sleep， and then， finally， deep sleep， according to the National Institutes of Health （NIH）. Throughout the night， a sleeper will cycle through REM and non-REM sleep several times， the NIH says.

Dreams during REM sleep can be vivid， bizarre or intense， and most of the time， the dreamer will experience them passively. However， sometimes a dreamer may find themselves in a lucid dream， in which they recognize that theyre dreaming. In this unusual state of awareness， the sleeper might be able to manipulate events in their dream， according to the Encyclopedia of Neuroscience.

Such experiences are rare. But by interrupting hypnagogia， the study authors found an alternate route for providing sleepers with the ability to shape their dream content， said Tomás Vega， a former graduate student researcher with MITs Fluid Interfaces Group， and he created the circuit board and software that TDI uses to record different biosignals.

In your wildest dreams

Vega had tested Dormio on his own dreaming brain， using the tech to plant a suggestion about a favorite movie， “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory，” with an audio prompt of the films chocolate factory workers， the Oompa Loompas， singing their signature song.

Singing Oompa Loompas did indeed appear in Vegas dream—but with a twist.

“I started dreaming about being in a chocolate waterfall， surrounded by Oompa Loompas singing ‘Oompa Loompa， doopity doo，” he said. However， Vega， who is lactose intolerant， also noted that the waterfall was made of dark chocolate.

“It was a lactose-free waterfall，” he said. “So， is my lactose-intolerance knowledge in my consciousness or in my subconscious？ I induced this dream content， but there were still some constraints， like， ‘You cannot just dream about milk chocolate because thats going to harm you，” he said.

Creative brainstorming would likely be the most immediate application for targeted dreaming， Haar Horowitz said. But as many of the mechanisms that control sleep and dreaming are not well understood， its too soon to say precisely how nudging a dreams content or achieving a state of awareness while dreaming could directly benefit a sleeper in other ways， he added.

“Every benefit shown to be correlated to dreaming deserves an experiment on whether it can be causally shown to come from dreaming，” Haar Horowitz said. “This ranges from past work on nightmares and PTSD to current work on language learning in sleep， or creativity and eureka moments in dreams.”? ? ? ? ? ? ?■

麻省理工學院的科學家將應用程序與一款名為Dormio的睡眠追蹤設備相結合，借此找到了操縱人的夢境的方法。在他們的新研究中，研究人員能向人的夢境中插入某些主題，造成一些非常奇異的結果。

為此，麻省理工學院媒體實驗室“流體界面”小組的研究者使用了一種名為“定向孵夢”（TDI）的技術。該小組開發可穿戴系統和界面，以增強認知技能。

之前的研究表明，在一種被稱為清醒夢的罕見做夢狀態中，睡眠者知道夢境正在發生，做夢者可以利用這種知覺有意識地塑造其夢境的各個方面。TDI技術利用稱為“睡眠臨界態”的早期睡眠階段來達到類似效果（雖然不能完全“控制”夢境）。

睡眠臨界態即一種在睡眠開始時發生的半清醒夢狀態。科學家在發表于《意識與認知》8月刊的新研究報告中寫道，TDI技術在這個階段向睡眠者導入“有針對性的信息”，“使這一信息能夠直接融入夢境”。他們對25名參與者進行了夢境實驗，在他們白天小睡時實施“連續喚醒”。

在這項研究中，受試者先在應用程序中錄制了音頻提示，如“記得想一棵樹”“記得關注自己的想法”等，然后準備入睡。

戴在手上的睡眠追蹤器監測了受試者的心率、皮膚表面的電流變化以及他們手指彎曲或放松的程度，以檢測睡眠者何時進入睡眠臨界態，繼而“易受外界音頻提示的影響”，麻省理工學院媒體實驗室“流體界面”小組的博士生、本次研究報告的第一作者亞當·哈爾·霍羅威茨說道。Dormio睡眠追蹤器與應用程序聯通，后者會“在正確的時間發送音頻”，并在受試者醒來后“錄下夢境報告的音頻”。

就在受試者昏昏欲睡、進入睡眠臨界態時，Dormio會與應用程序協作，用預先錄制的提示語喚醒他們。這個循環重復了多次，睡眠者被喚醒后還錄制一條簡短的“夢境日志”音頻存到應用程序中。

“簡而言之，受試者會告訴我們提示語是否出現在了他們的夢中。”哈爾·霍羅威茨表示，“通常，提示語會發生轉變，比如‘樹的提示變成了樹形的汽車，但直接融入很容易被識別。”

科學家發現，67%的受試者在夢境報告中提到有樹出現在夢境中。“我和某人一起跟隨樹根，樹根把我帶到了不同的地方。”一位參與者回憶道。另一位則提到了“一棵來自兒時后院的樹，它從未要求過什么”。同一受試者在后面幾次被叫醒時描述了“樹木分裂成無數的碎片”和“一個薩滿教巫師與我同坐樹下，他讓我去南美洲”。

“每喚醒一次，夢境報告的詭異性和沉浸感就增加一分。”但研究報告的幾位作者指出，科學家并沒有為夢的詭異性制定一個通用的評級系統。

繼續美夢

雖然有些夢境發生在睡眠臨界態，但大多數夢境產生于快速眼動（REM）睡眠期間。大腦達到REM睡眠之前，會經過三個階段的非REM睡眠。根據美國國家衛生研究院（NIH）的研究，睡眠者首先會由清醒狀態過渡到睡眠狀態，即睡眠臨界態，隨后進入淺睡眠，最后是深睡眠。NIH表示，睡眠者整夜會在REM和非REM睡眠間循環多次。

在REM睡眠期間，夢可能是生動、詭異或強烈的，做夢者大多數時候是被動地體驗這些夢境。然而，有時做夢者可能會處于清醒的夢境中，能意識到自己在做夢。《神經科學百科全書》寫道，在這種不尋常的意識狀態下，睡眠者或許能夠操縱夢中的事件。

這樣的經歷很罕見。但麻省理工學院“流體界面”小組的前研究生調研員托馬斯·維加表示，通過打斷睡眠臨界態，研究報告的幾位作者另辟蹊徑，讓睡眠者能夠塑造夢境。維加創建了電路板和軟件供TDI技術記錄不同的生物信號。

狂野夢境

維加曾用自己陷入夢境的大腦測試過Dormio。他用TDI技術植入了一條關于他最喜歡的電影《歡樂糖果屋》的暗語，并用影片中巧克力工廠工人奧柏倫柏矮人所唱的招牌歌曲作為音頻提示。

唱歌的奧柏倫柏矮人確實出現在了維加夢中，但有一處不同。

他說：“我一開始夢見自己身處巧克力瀑布之中，周圍有奧柏倫柏矮人唱著‘奧柏倫柏，嘟吡滴嘟。”但有乳糖不耐癥的維加又注意到，那瀑布是由黑巧克力制成的。

“那是一個不含乳糖的瀑布。”他說，“那么，是我的意識還是潛意識知道我對乳糖不耐受呢？這個夢境的內容是我誘導的，但還是受到了一些限制，比如‘你就是不能夢到牛奶巧克力，因為那會傷害你。”

哈爾·霍羅威茨表示，創造性頭腦風暴可能是定向孵夢最直接的應用。但他補充道，由于人們對許多控制睡眠和做夢的機制還不十分了解，現在確切地說誘導夢境內容或做夢時意識清醒如何能在其他方面使睡眠者直接獲益還為時過早。

“每一個顯示出與夢境相關的益處都應該有實驗來檢驗，看它是否能由做夢產生。”哈爾·霍羅威茨說，“這一研究的范圍可涵蓋過去對噩夢和創傷后應激障礙的研究，以及當前對睡眠中的語言學習研究，抑或對夢中的創造力和頓悟時刻的研究。”? ? ? ? □

（譯者單位：復旦大學）