Animals DreamToo动物也会做梦

李明娟

If you've ever watched a dog sleep， you may wonder if animals dream. It's a difficult question. We still dont know why humans dream， or why dreams might be important. Studying animal dreams is even harder. Dogs cant tell us what made them whine1 or run during a snooze2.

如果你見过狗睡觉，你可能会好奇动物会不会做梦。这是一个复杂的问题。我们仍然不清楚人类为什么会做梦，或者为什么梦比较重要。研究动物的梦更加困难了。狗无法告诉我们是什么让它们在打盹时发出呜呜声或急促的声音。

What cats dream about

猫梦见了什么

House cats were some of the first animals studied in the dream research. In REM sleep3， human muscles don't move much though the brains are ver active in our dreams. The body doesn't act out our dreams no matter how real they seem.

家猫是梦境研究中最早被研究的动物之一。在快速眼动睡眠中，尽管大脑在我们的梦中非常活跃，但人类的肌肉并没有太多活动。无论我们的梦境看起来多么真实，身体都不会表现出来。

With their brains deep in REM sleep， the cats began to move as if awake， hunting，jumping，and fighting. This provided a window into what was happening in the catssleeping brains.

当它们的大脑处于快速眼动睡眠状态时，猫开始像清醒时一样活动起来，它们狩猎、跳跃和打斗。这为研究猫睡着后的大脑活动提供了一个窗口。

Rats recall maze4 memories

老鼠回忆迷宫记忆

After rats run a maze during the day， they can rerun the same course while asleep，research has shown. When awake，a rats hippocampus5，a part of the brain responsible6 for making and storing memories， remembers the neuron7 pattern8 of running the maze.

研究表明，老鼠白天走完迷宫后，它们可以在睡觉时重复同样的过程。当老鼠清醒时，老鼠的海马体（大脑中负责制造和存储记忆的部分）会记住走迷宫时的神经元模式。

Later when asleep， the brain reproduces the pattern， suggesting the rat remembers or relearns the maze all over again. This 2001 finding was one of the first to suggest that animals had complex dreams. And it was just the beginning.

随后，当老鼠睡着时，大脑会重现这个模式，这表明老鼠会再次记住或重新学习走迷宫。2001年的这一发现是最早表明动物有复杂梦境的发现之一。而这仅仅是一个开始。

A lot of things suggest during sleep rats will have lots of experiences， which happened when they are not sleeping. The interesting part is，if thats whats going on，what does it mean？ That maybe ratsdreams.

很多事情都表明，在睡眠期间，老鼠会有很多经历，这些经历发生在它们没有睡觉的时候。有趣的是，如果是这样的话，那意味着什么呢？那可能就是老鼠的梦。

Zebra finches9 remember songs

斑胸草雀记忆歌曲

Known for their songs， zebra finches aren't born singers. The birds must learn by listening， practicing， and， perhaps， by dreaming. In 2000 researchers leamed that while the birds sleep， their brain replicates10 the songs they heard and sang that day. It suggests the birds remember and practice songs in their sleep.

斑胸草雀以歌声而闻名，但它们并不是天生的歌手。这种鸟儿必须通过倾听、练习，或许还有做梦来学习。2000年，研究人员发现，当斑胸草雀睡觉时，它们的大脑会复制当天听过和唱过的歌。这表明这种鸟在睡眠中记忆并练习歌曲。

After further research over 20 years， finches were the first non-mammalsll found to have a similar sleep as humans， including REM sleep. More recent work shows that the birds also move their vocal muscles to match the music in their brains. They can be made to sing a song played to them in their sleep.

经过20多年的进一步研究，雀类是第一批被发现拥有与人类类似睡眠的非哺乳动物，包括快速眼动睡眠。最近的研究表明，这些鸟还可以活动它们的声带肌肉，以配合大脑中的音乐。它们在睡梦中可以唱出播放的歌曲。

Fishes can also sleep

鱼儿也会睡觉

Zebrafish also experience REM-like sleep. While sleeping， these fish lose muscle tone12， develop arrhythmic13 heartbeats14， and show brain activity that looks like that of an awake fish.

斑马鱼也会经历类似快速眼动的睡眠。在睡觉时，这些鱼会失去肌肉张力，产生心律失常的心跳，并表现出类似于鱼清醒时的大脑活动。

One big difference from humans， though not all other animals， was that the fish didn't move their eyes. The finding suggests that REM sleep， the state when most dreams start， may have evolved15 at least 450million years ago.

與人类（虽然不是所有其他动物）的最大不同点是，鱼不会眨眼。这个发现表明，大多数梦开始时的快速眼动睡眠状态可能至少在4.5亿年前就已经进化出来了。

Twenty years ago， people would say that fish dont even sleep. But why does dreaming matter？ Does REM sleep conservation16 across evolution17 mean that even fish might dream？

20年前，人们会说鱼是不睡觉的。但为什么做梦很重要呢？进化过程中保存下来的快速眼动睡眠是否意味着即使是鱼也可能会做梦？

Dreaming can be the preparing work our brain does for the coming day. It is not surprising if actual dreams were found in animals. At the end people will be able to show that by science.

做梦可以是我们大脑为第二天所做的准备工作。如果在动物身上发现了真正的梦境，这并不奇怪，最终人们将能够用科学证明这一点。

People did something in the daytime，and the brain will replay it，integrate18 it， and mix it with other experiences. Well know that were not the only ones who can remember and learn some day.

人们白天做了某件事情，大脑会将其回放、整合，并与其他经历融合。总有一天我们会知道，我们不是唯一能记忆和学习的物种。

（英语原文选自：msn.com）