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Zzzzzzzzzz. Huh? What?
Where am I? Where’s that mouse? Or was it a rat?
Yes, animals dream. Researchers Dr. Matthew
Wilson and Kenway Louie at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
selected four lucky rats. They implanted micro-electrodes into the
hippocampus, the region of the brain associated with memory. Then
they monitored the firing patterns of the neurons hooked up to micro-electrodes.
The patterns were the same whether the rat
was dreaming about running around on a track or actually running
around on a track. In fact, by just looking at the patterns, the
scientists could tell whether the creature was dreaming about running
or just sitting around. So why do animals dream? Probably to re-live
and learn from experience.
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