Lucid dreaming, thought to be unique to humans, occurs when we realize that we are dreaming within a dream, which sometimes allows people to take control of their sleeping narrative. This powerful dream state is rare, but researchers say they’ve discovered the mechanism that triggers lucid dreams---and that they can trigger this dream state at will. In a study published Sunday in the journal Nature Neuroscience
, researchers report that they caused sleeping individuals to experience lucid dreams by stimulating their brains with specific electrical frequencies. Researchers believe their findings could shed light on human consciousness and yield novel ways to treat mental illness and post-traumatic nightmares.
Past studies demonstrated that telltale electrical brain wave patterns accompany lucid dreams: gamma waves with frequencies ranging from 20 to 80 Hertz (Hz). So, researchers in the current study set out to test if these signature gamma waves were the cause of lucid ...
