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Unlocking the mystery of dreams
Dreams have captivated thinkers since ancient times, but their mystery is now
closer than ever to resolution, thanks to new technology that allows scientists
to watch the sleeping brain at work.
A Thousands of years ago, dreams were seen as messages from the gods,
and in many cultures, they are still considered prophetic, foretelling things to
come. In ancient Greece, sick people slept at the temples of Asclepius, the god
of medicine, in order to receive healing dreams. Modern dream science really
begins at the end of the 19th century with Sigmund Freud, who theorized that
dreams were the expression of unconscious desires often from childhood. He
believed that exploring these hidden emotions through analysis could help cure
mental illness. After Freud, the most important event in dream science was the
discovery in the early 1950s of a phase of sleep characterized by intense brain
activity and rapid eye movement (REM).

B Adult humans spend about a quarter of their sleep time in REM, much of
it dreaming. People awakened in the midst of REM sleep reported vivid
dreams, which led researchers to conclude that most dreaming took place
during REM. Using a machine called the electroencephalograph (EEG),
researchers were able to see that brain activity during REM resembled that of
the brain when the body is awake. The mystery of REM sleep is that even
though it may not be essential, it is universal – at least in mammals and even
birds. Some researchers think REM may have evolved for physiological
reasons. "One thing that's unique about mammals and birds is that they regulate
body temperature," says neuroscientist Jerry Siegel, director of UCLA's Center
for Sleep Research. "There's no good evidence that any coldblooded animal has
REM sleep." REM sleep heats up the brain and non-REM cools it off, Siegel
says, and that could mean that the changing sleep cycles allow the brain to
repair itself. "It seems likely that REM sleep is filling a basic physiological
function and that dreams are a kind of a side-effect, or by-product of this.

C There is great disagreement about the psychological function of dreams

and researchers have come up with some differing theories. On one side are
scientists like Harvard's Allan Hobson, who believes that dreams are
essentially random. In the 1970s, Hobson and his colleague Robert McCarley
proposed what they called the "activation-synthesis hypothesis," which
describes how dreams are formed by nerve signals sent out during REM sleep
from a small area at the base of the brain called the pons. These signals, the
researchers said, activate the images that we call dreams. That raised questions
about dream research. If dreams are insignificant night-time images created by
the brain, what is the point of studying them?

D But more recently, new theories have made some scientists take dreams
more seriously. In 1997, Mark Solms of the University of Cape Town in South
Africa found that there was more than one mechanism in the brain for
activating dreams. Since then, Solms has argued that medical diagnostic
equipment like functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and positron
emission tomography (PET) that helps researchers watch dreaming brains
might actually lend new support to Freud's ideas because the parts of the brain
that are most active during dreaming control emotion. Further research has
supported Solm’s findings. Scientists using PET and fMRI technology to watch
the dreaming brain have found that one of the most active areas during REM is
the limbic system, which controls our emotions.

E Much less active during REM sleep is the prefrontal cortex, which is
associated with logical thinking. That could explain why dreams in REM sleep
often lack a coherent story line. Some researchers have also found that people
dream in non-REM sleep as well, although those dreams generally are less
vivid. Another active part of the brain in REM sleep is the anterior cingulate
cortex, which detects differences or inconsistencies. Eric Nofzinger, director of
the Sleep Neuroimaging Program at the University of Pittsburgh Medical
Center, thinks that could be why people often solve tricky problems in their
dreams.

F Deirdre Barrett, assistant professor at Harvard Medical School, would

agree. In her book "The Committee of Sleep," she describes how painters like
Jasper Johns and Salvador Dali found inspiration in their dreams. In her own
research on problem solving through dreams, Barrett has found that even ordinary
people can solve simple problems in their lives (like how to fit old furniture into a
new apartment) if they focus on the dilemma before they fall asleep. There is also
evidence that dreaming helps certain kinds of learning. Some researchers have
found that dreaming about physical tasks, like a gymnast's floor routine, enhances
performance.
G Whatever the function of dreams at night, they clearly can play a role in
therapy during the day. The University of Maryland's Clara Hill, who has
studied the use of dreams in therapy, says that dreams are a "back door" into a
patient's thinking. "Dreams reveal stuff about you that you didn't know was
there," she says. The therapists she trains to work with patients' dreams use
dream imagery to uncover hidden emotions and feelings. Rosalind Cartwright
from the university medical center in Chicago has been studying depression in
divorced men and women, and she is finding that "good dreamers," people who
have vivid dreams with strong story lines, are less likely to remain depressed.
She thinks that dreaming helps diffuse powerful emotions. "Dreaming is a
mental-health activity," she says.

Questions 27-31
Reading Passage 3 has seven paragraphs, A–G.
Which paragraph contains the following information?
Write the correct letter, A–G, in boxes 27-31 on your answer sheet.

27 a reference to the significance of dreams on artists’ work

28 a concern about the usefulness of dream research
29 the types of living creatures that have REM sleep
30 research results linking dreams to psychological well-being
31 an account of how modern research tools have strengthened Freud’s theory

Questions 32-35
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.
Write the correct letter in boxes 32-35 on your answer sheet.

32 In ancient times, people thought that dreams

A sent messages to the gods.
B helped resolve conflict.
C were a sign of physical illness.
D predicted future events.
33 According to the passage, which of the following happens during REM sleep time?
A People rarely dream.
B People’s dreams become confused
C The temperature of the brain increases.
D The brain behaves differently than when you are awake.

34 What explanation is suggested in paragraph E for lack of a clear narrative in

dreams?
A Some dreams occur in non-REM sleep.
B Some dreams are generated in different areas of the brain.
C The part of the brain in control of reasoning is less involved.
D The part of the brain responsible for feelings is more involved.

35 According to the passage, which area of the brain helps people find solutions to
difficult situations through their dreams?
A the anterior cingulate cortex
B the pons
C the limbic system
D the prefrontal cortex

Questions 36-40
Look at the following statements (Questions 36-40) and the list of people below.
Match each statement with the correct person or people, A–G.
Write the correct letter, A–G, in boxes 36-40 on your answer sheet.

36 Technology shows there is a link between dreams and the areas of the brain that
deal with feelings.
37 Dreams are meaningless pictures created by the brain.
38 Dreaming is a method of calming strong feelings.
39 Our dreams can show us unexpected things about ourselves.
40 Dreams may be a result of maintaining an essential body function.

List of People
A Jerry Siegel
B Allan Hobson and Robert McCarley
C Mark Solms
D Eric Nofzinger
E Deirdre Barrett
F Ciara Hill
G Rosalind Cartwright