Science & Technology

MIT develops a dream manipulation machine

By T.K. Randall
August 1, 2020

Image: AI-generated (Midjourney) Imagine if it were possible to go to bed at night and have only the dreams you particularly enjoy ?

It might sound like something firmly rooted in the realms of science fiction, but now it looks as though such a thing may actually become a possibility thanks to a new device named "Dormio" that can trigger dreams based on certain themes or experiences.

Developed by a team lead by MIT neuroscientist Adam Haar Horowitz, the wearable device enables what is being referred to as targeted dream incubation (TDI) which takes advantage of the earliest phase of sleep during which the sleeper experiences a borderline state of consciousness.

"This state of mind is trippy, loose, flexible, and divergent," said Horowitz."It's like turning the notch up high on mind-wandering and making it immersive - being pushed and pulled with new sensations like your body floating and falling, with your thoughts quickly snapping in and out of control."

As the sleeper drifts off, audio is played that is designed to induce certain dreams.

"Targeted dream incubation is a protocol for reactivating memories during sleep in a manner that leads to incorporation of the targeted memory, or related memories, into dream content," the study authors wrote.

"The aim of the current study is to assess the ability of Dormio to identify the sleep onset period and successfully manipulate the content of hypnagogic dream report through pre-sleep verbal prompts."

Source: Science Alert

Tags: Dreams