I'm actually going to do my senior research project on lucid dreaming, so I have a few questions.

First of all, are there any tell-tale signs that a person is in REM sleep, OTHER than the rapid eye movements themselves? I'm hoping to build a lucid dreaming aide which would provide the sleeper with sensory input of various types during REM sleep, and it would be nice to have some method other than staring at someone's eyes for hours or estimating circadian rhythms.

Secondly, just out of curiosity, do you know which parts of the brain are active during lucid dreaming as opposed to 'normal' dreaming? I'm shocked that so little research appears to have been done in this area, because it stands to reason that if there are any neural structures which are responsible for consciousness, they would be the only difference between lucid and non-lucid dreaming.

Thirdly, does sleep-walking ever occur during REM sleep? I remember reading that this only occurs during NREM sleep periods somewhere. If it did happen during REM sleep, and you happened to be having a lucid dream... would you be able to control your sleeping body by moving about in your dream?

Last, but probably most importantly - do you know of any foods, vitamins, supplements, or the like, which might help trigger lucid dreams? I would be interested in conducting some shitty and un-scientific tests involving them for my state-mandated senior research project, just to have some semblance of science in there.

Thank you so much for answering our questions, it's good of you to share your knowledge =D