• UCLA Health
  • myUCLAhealth
  • School of Medicine
U Magazine

U Magazine

U Magazine
  • Home
  • Current Issue
  • Centennial Campaign for UCLA Issue
  • Browse U Magazine
  • Letters to the Editor
  • Subscribe
  • Contact
  • UCLA Health
  • myUCLAhealth
  • School of Medicine

U Magazine

Browse U Magazine

  1. Home
  2. Browse U Magazine
Share this
The Cutting Edge

REM Sleep Helps Brain Capture Snapshots of Dream Images

  REM Sleep Helps Brain Capture Snapshots  
 

Illustration: Maja Moden

Our most vivid dreams and vigorous brain activity come during the rapid eye movement, or REM, phase of sleep. Although scientists have long suspected that our eyes flicker in response to what our unconscious mind sees in our dreams, no one has been able to prove it. Now, an international team of researchers led by Itzhak Fried, MD, PhD ’81, professor of neurosurgery and professor of psychiatry and biobehavioral sciences at the Jane and Terry Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior at UCLA, is the first to demonstrate that during dreams, our eyes and brains respond similarly to how they react to images when we’re awake. The findings offer a rare glimpse into the workings of individual brain cells in the sleeping mind.

Dr. Fried made the finding after implanting electrodes deep into the brains of 19 people with drug-resistant epilepsy in order to identify the origin of their seizures prior to surgery. For up to two weeks, the electrodes recorded the electrical activities of individual neurons in the medial temporal lobe, the bridge between visual perception and memories, allowing Dr. Fried to eavesdrop on the patients’ dreams. “Our earlier studies showed that these neurons fire when we view pictures of familiar people and places — or simply close our eyes to imagine or remember them,” Dr. Fried says. But when the researchers reviewed the data from the electrode recordings, they saw something unexpected in the responses of single brain cells during REM sleep.

“Brain cells in the medial temporal lobe showed a sudden surge of activity each time after patients moved their eyes in REM sleep,”

Dr. Fried says. “This electrical pattern closely resembles what happens when we view something new in waking life. We suspect rapid eye movements reflect the instant when the brain encounters a new image in a dream.” The finding implies that REM captures snapshots of dream imagery, suggesting that the same machinery that informs our conscious visual experience also operates during sleep.

Sleep, Dr. Fried says, remains one of the great mysteries of the human mind. “It’s a time when we relive and consolidate our memories,” he says. “Rapid eye movement offers a window into the human visual experience. At these moments, our sleeping brains capture snapshots of the dream world inside our heads.”

Future research will aim to decode dream content based upon brain-cell activity. “The next question is whether or not the neurons are responding to the images the sleeper sees in his dreams,” Dr. Fried says.

The researchers conducted the study on people preparing for epilepsy surgery because, in preparation for the surgery, doctors implant sensors to monitor brain activity, creating a rare collection of findings that cannot be obtained any other way. The scientists used the data to learn what happens in the brain during REM sleep.

“Single-neuron Activity and Eye Movements during Human REM Sleep and Awake Vision,” Nature Communications, August 11, 2015


Previous
Stem-cell Therapy Holds Promise for Eliminating HIV Infection
Next
Germline Cells Shown to be Vulnerable during Pregnancy


YOU ARE VIEWING

Fall 2015

Fall 2015
E-Brochure
Printable PDF
IN THIS ISSUE
  • We Are the World
  • Camp Leg Power Propels Kids with Cerebral Palsy Forward
  • Portable Finger Probe Measures Liver Function in Potential Donors
  • Stem-cell Therapy Holds Promise for Eliminating HIV Infection
  • REM Sleep Helps Brain Capture Snapshots of Dream Images
  • Germline Cells Shown to be Vulnerable during Pregnancy
  • New Study Opens Window on Mutations in Genetic Architecture of Schizophrenics
  • How Molecular Rules Govern Autoimmune Disorders
  • Predicting Response to Treatment for Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
  • Why Children’s Recovery Times Vary after Traumatic Brain Injury
  • Potentially Effective Treatment for Meth Addiction
  • Protein that Helps Suppress Cancer Fades as We Age
  • Patient First to Bridge from Experimental Total Artificial Heart to Transplant
  • UCLA Community Based Learning: Bridging the Transition from Youth to Adulthood
  • Get Social
  • The End of Darkness
  • Medicine 2.0
  • White Knight
  • Awards, Honors & Grants
  • In Memoriam
  • Postcard from Malawi
  • In Her Own Words: Lynn L. Huang, MD ’07
  • The Business of Medical Innovation
  • Tribute to a Mentor and Friend
  • Kaleidoscope Ball Highlights Artistic Variety
  • Landmark Gift Paves the Way for Breakthroughs
  • The UCLA Today’s and Tomorrow’s Children’s Fund Names New Awardees
  • Golden Portal Fundraiser Joins Movies, Medicine and Technology
  • Widening the Circle of Giving
  • UCLA Names Landmark New Medical-Education Building Geffen Hall
  • Gifts
  • In Memoriam
  • Good Afternoon, Mrs. Gates
Like Us on Facebook Follow Us on Twitter Subscribe to Our Videos on YouTube Follow us on Instagram Connect with Us on LinkedIn Follow us on Pinterest
UCLA Health hospitals ranked best hospitals by U.S. News & World Report
  • UCLA Health
  • Find a Doctor
  • School of Medicine
  • School of Nursing
  • UCLA Campus
  • Directory
  • Newsroom
  • Subscribe
  • Patient Stories
  • Giving
  • Careers
  • Volunteer
  • International Services
  • Privacy Practices
  • Nondiscrimination
  • Billing
  • Health Plans
  • Emergency
  • Report Broken Links
  • Terms of Use
  • 1-310-825-2631
  • Maps & Directions
  • Contact Us
  • Your Feedback
  • Report Misconduct
  • Get Social
  • Sitemap
Like Us on Facebook Follow Us on Twitter Subscribe to Our Videos on YouTube Follow us on Instagram Connect with Us on LinkedIn Follow us on Pinterest

Sign in to myUCLAhealth