Eye movements 'change scenes' during dreams(bbc.com)
bbc.com
Eye movements 'change scenes' during dreams
http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-33860994
4 comments
Not sure what "change of scene" means, but:
"Based on earlier studies showing that some of the eye movements of REM sleep corresponded to the reported direction of the dreamer's gaze (e.g., Roffwarg et al. 1962), we asked subjects to carry out distinctive patterns of voluntary eye movements when they realized they were dreaming. The prearranged eye movement signals appeared on the polygraph records during REM, proving that the subjects had indeed been lucid during uninterrupted REM sleep (LaBerge 1990; LaBerge et al. 1981)" (from http://www.lucidity.com/slbbs/)
"Based on earlier studies showing that some of the eye movements of REM sleep corresponded to the reported direction of the dreamer's gaze (e.g., Roffwarg et al. 1962), we asked subjects to carry out distinctive patterns of voluntary eye movements when they realized they were dreaming. The prearranged eye movement signals appeared on the polygraph records during REM, proving that the subjects had indeed been lucid during uninterrupted REM sleep (LaBerge 1990; LaBerge et al. 1981)" (from http://www.lucidity.com/slbbs/)
It sounds very similar to a 'Saccade' [1]. Something your eyes do all the time when waking whenever they move. From your mind's perspective it seems to cut off the old signal from wherever yours eyes were previously facing/absorbing, wipes the slate clean and starts building up mental imagery and models based on the new input feed.
I think this might be getting at what they mean by 'change of scene', but it's probably not possible to prove exactly what's happening since it's subjective.
As an experiment you can do yourself to highlight this effect, go to you bathroom and look into the mirror with your face almost touching it, staring at the point between your eyes.
Try not to move your eyes at all and relax them, even if it feels like they might be moving off-target. Eventually your whole 'view' should subtly change, maybe blur and come into and out of seeming focus as your brain tries to interpret the noisy input it's getting (since nothing should be changing, the only difference in the input is noise) and may refocus your mental imagery/minds eye at showing you what it thinks you're looking at.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saccade
I think this might be getting at what they mean by 'change of scene', but it's probably not possible to prove exactly what's happening since it's subjective.
As an experiment you can do yourself to highlight this effect, go to you bathroom and look into the mirror with your face almost touching it, staring at the point between your eyes.
Try not to move your eyes at all and relax them, even if it feels like they might be moving off-target. Eventually your whole 'view' should subtly change, maybe blur and come into and out of seeming focus as your brain tries to interpret the noisy input it's getting (since nothing should be changing, the only difference in the input is noise) and may refocus your mental imagery/minds eye at showing you what it thinks you're looking at.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saccade
When we're sleeping and want to change the dream subject matter, we twitch our eyes. It's like pressing the lever on a View-Master[1], or clicking the mouse to view the next slide.
[1]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/View-Master
[1]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/View-Master
News is so weird. The top of the article shows a picture of a person sleeping. Sleep is a pretty universal experience; I'm not sure how that image enhances the article =P
This is really amazing, I have always wondered what the first dreams a sentient creature are. What is the context of a dream before we have any experiences to form it from?
Hm, I don't think there is such a moment. From the moment we acquire some sort of consciousness and sleep becomes a requirement for the body and mind to work properly, you at least some sort of experience.
Newborns can't see properly, they see only shadows and perceive mainly by sound and contact. But even them, have nightmares or good dreams :-)
A better question might be: "What kind of dreams does a human blind from birth dream?"
Nature Magazine featured an article on the topic[1].
[1] http://phenomena.nationalgeographic.com/2014/02/26/how-the-b...
Newborns can't see properly, they see only shadows and perceive mainly by sound and contact. But even them, have nightmares or good dreams :-)
A better question might be: "What kind of dreams does a human blind from birth dream?"
Nature Magazine featured an article on the topic[1].
[1] http://phenomena.nationalgeographic.com/2014/02/26/how-the-b...
Or even dreaming in the womb:
http://www.science20.com/news_releases/do_babies_womb_have_d...
http://www.science20.com/news_releases/do_babies_womb_have_d...
Further, the study delves into the connections between REM sleep and wakefulness. This could lead into lucid dreaming, as other commenters have remarked.
Others are using the new findings to dig into evolutionary causes.