Physical movement is not the only way of peering into dreams, though. Researchers can now humanely peer into the electrical and chemical activities of brain cells in animals while they sleep. In 2007, MIT scientists Kenway Louise and Matthew Wilson recorded the activity of neurons in a part of the rat brain called the hippocampus, a structure known to be involved in the formation and encoding of memories. They first recorded the activity of those brain cells while the rats ran in their mazes. Then they looked at the activity of the very same neurons while they slept. Louise and Wilson discovered identical patterns of firing during running and during REM. In other words, it was as if the rats were running the maze in their minds while they were snoozing. The results were so clear that the researchers could infer the rats' precise location within their mental dream mazes and map them to actual spots within the actual maze.
然而,身体行为并不是窥探梦境的唯一方法。现在,研究者们可以在不伤害动物的情况下探查其睡眠时脑细胞内的电流和化学活动。2007年,麻省理工大学的科学家肯威·路易斯(Kenway Louise)和马修·威尔森(Matthew Wilson)记录下了老鼠脑内“海马体”部位的神经细胞活动,而“海马体”是与记忆的形成转换有关的结构。当老鼠在迷宫里奔跑时,他们第一次记录下了它们脑细胞内的活动。之后在老鼠睡眠时,他们又观察相同神经细胞的活动。路易斯和威尔森发现,在奔跑和睡眠时,老鼠脑细胞内的活动模式是相同的。也就是说,当老鼠在酣睡时,它们脑内活动就像还在迷宫里奔跑一样。结果是如此明确,以至于研究者们可以推测出老鼠在脑内梦中迷宫里的准确位置,并且能在现实迷宫中把它们的实际位置标出来。
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