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(I'll start by saying I don't know if it's possible to answer this question...)
When I read an old DJ entry of a dream and think about that dream, does the brain "know" that it's the memory of a dream, or does the brain treat it like the memory of a real event - just the same as the memories of other events?
I can tell you for a fact there are times I remember something and for the life of me I can't figure out if it was "real", a dream or a video game. I mean, unless it's something pretty obvious like "I was swinging along the ledges in this gigantic underground crypt and I needed to find green herb to heal myself..." :lol:
But actually there are certain parts of Tomb Raider that I sometimes remember as if they were real... the less crazy parts of course. There's something about that game in particular, and others where the goal is exploration of a realistic space that makes them feel more real. And these memories tend to be not of people or of things that happened so much as places. A room or a street or a yard or something that had a certain kind of atmosphere to it. The atmosphere is usually what I remember the most, and then I start wondering "Where was that? Was it someplace I really went? Or a dream? Or a video game?" Usually after a while it comes back to me though. But until it does, I really can't distinguish between real world, dream or video game.
In fact:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6NpfllZrdg
Something that happens to me on a weekly basis - I remember a dream and can't remember if I had it last night, recently or ages ago.
Hmmmm I'd have to say for me last night's dreams are in a separate category from years ago. So are dreams from the last few nights. But when I go back maybe as little as a week and read dreams I can be like "Really??!! that recently??!! I would have thought much longer ago".