Thread: Are we anywhere near close to learning how to record dreams?

I get the feeling I know what the answer will be but there's always hope.

Well first of all the main point to make is that science is growing like... exponentially, so I don't think it is way off to say a couple hundred years even before we would be able to do that. But think about it... what is the "benefit" of recording dreams. Sure it's "cool" and the such, but scientists might not view it as useful so they might not look into it as much. I think it'd come from learning more about the brain and learning how dreams are made and being able to view that process or whatever... then really perfecting that.

If you could record dreams then Lucid Dreamer would be so rich i think. It would become an entertianment tool. INstead of computer grafics and editing, the work woudl be done by professsional paid lucid dreamers. Imggine at the ed cretis of a movie , Lucid Dreams: Name1, name 2. name 3.

That is highly improbably. The brain is way to complicated to understand.

I record my dreams everyday with paper and pen.

Dude, they're talking about recording like you would a Movie. Like, Putting it on a DvD or Video tape.



I think it might be possible, but not any time soon. ( My General as hell answer.)

To quote the post I wrote in the double post of this topic (which i didn't realise was a double) ; I think it is highly possible. It would be complicated, but theoretically you should be able to hook your brain up to some sort of machine that could show your dreams. And also, about scientists not seeing it as a worthwhile cause, I think they would consider it as a useful invention. Even if they don't think it would be useful in terms of the advancement of mankind, someone would realise you could make a hell of a lot of money out of it... as is human nature.

Sure , its possible , they can do it as we speak . Anyone seen minority report ? Movies are real right .

I think it's a bit of both like they can record dreams easyier and accurakltely engouh to say if it bad dream or good dream or maybe a dream about a person or item if they cant already do that now but to put like some wires on a persons head and have there dream on like some tv screen seems inprobbable.

I have now and then thought about this. And felt an urge to invent something like it.
But I'm not expecting any great results or success from this casual desire just yet.

Dreams are somewhat beyond the limits of a television screen. You would lose alot of the essence of the dream.

For instance you have the tone of color. The feelings and atmosphere. And the entire viewing aspect and sound would be really complicated to convert. Holographic recording might lend a little more flexibility.

But since the dream is an experience. I dont think you would present it through such a device. It would be more a device of viewing experience itself. That is obviously beyond computer or television technology.

To view experience. I think this sort of technology is getting up there with time travel.
I'd say it's possible for a highly evolved entity to have access to these things without any technology. Life experience is shared between the....more experienced entity's. Shall I say. How they do this I am assuming would be somewhat similar to how you could record and view dreams. Though I believe there is a lot to learn before we are able to understand how to do this.

It would actually be quite possible to record images from dreams, but we would need imaging technology much better than what we have today. If we could have a resolution high enough to record the activity of each individual neuron in a limited area of the surface of the brain, then recording people's sight, vivid imagination, and dreams would be quite straightforward.

A person's visual field is mapped directly onto an area of the very back of the brain called "V1". Each neuron here is responsible for a specific pixel of the visual field. The map is right on the surface of the brain to a large degree and is easily accessible. Although some parts of it slip down into cracks, these would merely be holes in the field. The area that responds to the main central area that you see with is larger, and can be scanned more easily (In fact that allows the brain to get more information from that area).

Although there are many different maps in the brain that have information about motion, identification, etc., V1 is the primary visual center that has a high-resolution map of what you are seeing. Since there is feedback from other higher regions of the brain, V1 not only responds to the eyes, but to the vivid imagination.

Once a scientist actually did a recording of people's V1 areas and was able to determine things about what the participants were either seeing or vividly imagining. However, since the resolution was very low, he could only tell if the image was large or small, or if it was to the left or right.

Actually, it is possible to record the activity of single neurons by putting electrodes in or near them. So theoritically, it would indeed be very possible to record the visual portion of dreams from V1. However, it would be ridiculously expensive to do this, because it would be necessary to put an an array of electrodes into V1 that would monitor every neuron. It is very difficult to intall even one electrode. A project like this would be kind of like putting an astronaut on Mars or something. Also, the participant would get very bad brain damage, I think, and would probably go blind! Only a mad scientist with enormous resources could do this.

So it actaully is possible to record the visual (and maybe audio and tactile, too) portions of a dream, but it is highly impractical!

Originally posted by Feeble Wizard
A person's visual field is mapped directly onto an area of the very back of the brain called "V1". *Each neuron here is responsible for a specific pixel of the visual field. *The map is right on the surface of the brain to a large degree and is easily accessible. *Although some parts of it slip down into cracks, these would merely be holes in the field. *The area that responds to the main central area that you see with is larger, and can be scanned more easily (In fact that allows the brain to get more information from that area).

Although there are many different maps in the brain that have information about motion, identification, etc., V1 is the primary visual center that has a high-resolution map of what you are seeing. *Since there is feedback from other higher regions of the brain, V1 not only responds to the eyes, but to the vivid imagination.

I've read something like this before (the same visual mechanism is used for what someone sees as well as for visual imagination), and find that fascinating. I can see something and visualize something at the same time, so it makes me wonder how the brain "knows" which image is which.

Originally posted by kungfurabbits
Are we anywhere near close to learning how to record dreams?

I personally prefer the good old-fashion way to record my dreams, which is black ink on white paper.
Seriously, i'd hate it if Dreams were to become an entertainment tool.

I dreamed last night about a dream recording device. It was hooked up to a computer and a program was running that brought the dream up as a story. The images could then be shared with others.

I hope not, although if it's possible, it's likely inevitable. Of all the things in this world I'd like to keep private, the weird, warped manifestations of my sleeping mind are certainly among the top five.

The DreamCatcher 5000

Originally posted by DistantClone
The DreamCatcher 5000

Haha

Who cares anyway. The chances of ne getting made in the next 200 years is low...very low, and imagine the price tag on it. Only Bill Gates or Richard Branson could buy one and that would be ONE lol

As for a brain imaging system being able to actually "catch" the details of what the dreamer is literally perceiving.......no. Not even with invasive (open skull with electrodes) techniques, considering that our neural architecture changes every day.

However, it would be possible to communicate conditioned patterns of neural activity that represent a particular thought or idea. Very likely the dreamer would have to be lucid to do this because only a narrative communication format would be clear. I could elaborate on this but it could take days Deep stuff.

Originally posted by jonesn
As for a brain imaging system being able to actually "catch" the details of what the dreamer is literally perceiving.......no. Not even with invasive (open skull with electrodes) techniques, considering that our neural architecture changes every day.

However, it would be possible to communicate conditioned patterns of neural activity that represent a particular thought or idea. Very likely the dreamer would have to be lucid to do this because only a narrative communication format would be clear. I could elaborate on this but it could take days Deep stuff.

i don't understand a single word

I would say this: IF they even could, it would work like this.
It would record everything ''you see'' (aka 1st or 3rd person dream)
Then it would use sort of algorithm and other creepy mathemetical crap to calculate everything, then use a specially modified 3d graphics program, to model it.
Then the animations have to be done, so it could be some kind of capturing device.

I believe that true understanding of the human brain is right now, over our heads.

However, i think that this could be possible someday.
Then, it would also be possible to do the same thing with memory.

I swear to god I read an article a few years ago talking about how scientists had managed to rudimentarily record mouse dreams - at least, the visual part of them. I don't know what they said the image quality was like, but apparently it was enough for them to see that the mice were dreaming of searching their way through endless mazes (these were mice that were subjected to maze tests every day, so that was in and of itself nothing too bizarre).

But for the life of me I can't find it. Maybe it was April 1st when I read it or something, but I'd bet my life that the article's out there somewhere, genuine or not.

I had recently been reading up on a device called SCIO, which is an enhanced version of EPFX/QXCI. It communicates with the subconscious and uses biofeedback. The scientist that created it realized that everything living is Quantic in nature, or based upon the laws of Quantum Physics. While it doesn't record dreams, it communicates with the mind/body in pretty amazing ways.

I was able to experience it yesterday, since I wanted to try it to help my breathing and see if anything was out of balance. It did accurately register that I was allergic to bananas, and it has helped in a few other areas as well. I had some NLP sessions that afterwards I was mentally exhausted because it gave quite the mental workout.

Something like this may one day lead to devices that can record dreams. If dreams are the process of ionic exchange, like other biological processes, then they would involve frequencies, volts, amps, resistance, and other potentially measurable phenomenon.

i once read a comic book (dylan dog, i dont know if u ever read it, european comics are much better then US superhero stuff) where guy invented machine like that (to record dreams) went to psyhiatric clinic and then distributed dreams of people with heavy mental disorders as horror movies.