Scientists Recreate Dreams and Memories on Video

Scientists at UC Berkeley have developed technology to reconstruct images from brain wave activity.

By Kathryn Hawkins. Posted on September 26 2011

Our dreams are often hazy by the time we wake up—but what if you could watch an instant replay in the morning to find out exactly what your subconscious was up to during the night?

This Inception-esque technology may not be far off, thanks to researchers at UC Berkeley, who are working on reconstructing brain wave activity through computer modeling that matches colors, shapes, and movement, and transfers the resulting images to video.

In an experiment, some of the researchers watched videos from YouTube (tough job, huh?), while the other researchers used MRI technology to map the subjects’ brain activity. The computer modeling program was able to reconstruct a blurry, yet recognizable video of the images that the subjects were seeing—essentially reading their minds.

As well as reconstructing what a subject is actually observing, the technology could also be used to reconstruct dreams as they occur. Even more promising, it could “allow people with no motor skills to go into the MRI for two hours every day and communicate with their families,” Jack Gallant, Professor of Psychology at Berkeley, told the International Business Times.

Check out the fascinating frame-by-frame comparison of the original YouTube videos to the program’s brain wave reconstruction below.

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