Dream-shaping Tech from MIT麻省理工学院的造梦技术

明迪·魏斯贝格尔 刘莉

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.”             ■

麻省理工學院的科学家将应用程序与一款名为Dormio的睡眠追踪设备相结合，借此找到了操纵人的梦境的方法。在他们的新研究中，研究人员能向人的梦境中插入某些主题，造成一些非常奇异的结果。

为此，麻省理工学院媒体实验室“流体界面”小组的研究者使用了一种名为“定向孵梦”（TDI）的技术。该小组开发可穿戴系统和界面，以增强认知技能。

之前的研究表明，在一种被称为清醒梦的罕见做梦状态中，睡眠者知道梦境正在发生，做梦者可以利用这种知觉有意识地塑造其梦境的各个方面。TDI技术利用称为“睡眠临界态”的早期睡眠阶段来达到类似效果（虽然不能完全“控制”梦境）。

睡眠临界态即一种在睡眠开始时发生的半清醒梦状态。科学家在发表于《意识与认知》8月刊的新研究报告中写道，TDI技术在这个阶段向睡眠者导入“有针对性的信息”，“使这一信息能够直接融入梦境”。他们对25名参与者进行了梦境实验，在他们白天小睡时实施“连续唤醒”。

在这项研究中，受试者先在应用程序中录制了音频提示，如“记得想一棵树”“记得关注自己的想法”等，然后准备入睡。

戴在手上的睡眠追踪器监测了受试者的心率、皮肤表面的电流变化以及他们手指弯曲或放松的程度，以检测睡眠者何时进入睡眠临界态，继而“易受外界音频提示的影响”，麻省理工学院媒体实验室“流体界面”小组的博士生、本次研究报告的第一作者亚当·哈尔·霍罗威茨说道。Dormio睡眠追踪器与应用程序联通，后者会“在正确的时间发送音频”，并在受试者醒来后“录下梦境报告的音频”。

就在受试者昏昏欲睡、进入睡眠临界态时，Dormio会与应用程序协作，用预先录制的提示语唤醒他们。这个循环重复了多次，睡眠者被唤醒后还录制一条简短的“梦境日志”音频存到应用程序中。

“简而言之，受试者会告诉我们提示语是否出现在了他们的梦中。”哈尔·霍罗威茨表示，“通常，提示语会发生转变，比如‘树的提示变成了树形的汽车，但直接融入很容易被识别。”

科学家发现，67%的受试者在梦境报告中提到有树出现在梦境中。“我和某人一起跟随树根，树根把我带到了不同的地方。”一位参与者回忆道。另一位则提到了“一棵来自儿时后院的树，它从未要求过什么”。同一受试者在后面几次被叫醒时描述了“树木分裂成无数的碎片”和“一个萨满教巫师与我同坐树下，他让我去南美洲”。

“每唤醒一次，梦境报告的诡异性和沉浸感就增加一分。”但研究报告的几位作者指出，科学家并没有为梦的诡异性制定一个通用的评级系统。

继续美梦

虽然有些梦境发生在睡眠临界态，但大多数梦境产生于快速眼动（REM）睡眠期间。大脑达到REM睡眠之前，会经过三个阶段的非REM睡眠。根据美国国家卫生研究院（NIH）的研究，睡眠者首先会由清醒状态过渡到睡眠状态，即睡眠临界态，随后进入浅睡眠，最后是深睡眠。NIH表示，睡眠者整夜会在REM和非REM睡眠间循环多次。

在REM睡眠期间，梦可能是生动、诡异或强烈的，做梦者大多数时候是被动地体验这些梦境。然而，有时做梦者可能会处于清醒的梦境中，能意识到自己在做梦。《神经科学百科全书》写道，在这种不寻常的意识状态下，睡眠者或许能够操纵梦中的事件。

这样的经历很罕见。但麻省理工学院“流体界面”小组的前研究生调研员托马斯·维加表示，通过打断睡眠临界态，研究报告的几位作者另辟蹊径，让睡眠者能够塑造梦境。维加创建了电路板和软件供TDI技术记录不同的生物信号。

狂野梦境

维加曾用自己陷入梦境的大脑测试过Dormio。他用TDI技术植入了一条关于他最喜欢的电影《欢乐糖果屋》的暗语，并用影片中巧克力工厂工人奥柏伦柏矮人所唱的招牌歌曲作为音频提示。

唱歌的奥柏伦柏矮人确实出现在了维加梦中，但有一处不同。

他说：“我一开始梦见自己身处巧克力瀑布之中，周围有奥柏伦柏矮人唱着‘奥柏伦柏，嘟吡滴嘟。”但有乳糖不耐症的维加又注意到，那瀑布是由黑巧克力制成的。

“那是一个不含乳糖的瀑布。”他说，“那么，是我的意识还是潜意识知道我对乳糖不耐受呢？这个梦境的内容是我诱导的，但还是受到了一些限制，比如‘你就是不能梦到牛奶巧克力，因为那会伤害你。”

哈尔·霍罗威茨表示，创造性头脑风暴可能是定向孵梦最直接的应用。但他补充道，由于人们对许多控制睡眠和做梦的机制还不十分了解，现在确切地说诱导梦境内容或做梦时意识清醒如何能在其他方面使睡眠者直接获益还为时过早。

“每一个显示出与梦境相关的益处都应该有实验来检验，看它是否能由做梦产生。”哈尔·霍罗威茨说，“这一研究的范围可涵盖过去对噩梦和创伤后应激障碍的研究，以及当前对睡眠中的语言学习研究，抑或对梦中的创造力和顿悟时刻的研究。”        □

（译者单位：复旦大学）