李明娟

If you've ever watched a dog sleep， you may wonder if animals dream. It's a difficult question. We still dont know why humans dream， or why dreams might be important. Studying animal dreams is even harder. Dogs cant tell us what made them whine1 or run during a snooze2.

如果你見過狗睡覺，你可能會(huì)好奇動(dòng)物會(huì)不會(huì)做夢(mèng)。這是一個(gè)復(fù)雜的問題。我們?nèi)匀徊磺宄祟悶槭裁磿?huì)做夢(mèng)，或者為什么夢(mèng)比較重要。研究動(dòng)物的夢(mèng)更加困難了。狗無法告訴我們是什么讓它們?cè)诖蝽飼r(shí)發(fā)出嗚嗚聲或急促的聲音。

What cats dream about

貓夢(mèng)見了什么

House cats were some of the first animals studied in the dream research. In REM sleep3， human muscles don't move much though the brains are ver active in our dreams. The body doesn't act out our dreams no matter how real they seem.

家貓是夢(mèng)境研究中最早被研究的動(dòng)物之一。在快速眼動(dòng)睡眠中，盡管大腦在我們的夢(mèng)中非常活躍，但人類的肌肉并沒有太多活動(dòng)。無論我們的夢(mèng)境看起來多么真實(shí)，身體都不會(huì)表現(xiàn)出來。

With their brains deep in REM sleep， the cats began to move as if awake， hunting，jumping，and fighting. This provided a window into what was happening in the catssleeping brains.

當(dāng)它們的大腦處于快速眼動(dòng)睡眠狀態(tài)時(shí)，貓開始像清醒時(shí)一樣活動(dòng)起來，它們狩獵、跳躍和打斗。這為研究貓睡著后的大腦活動(dòng)提供了一個(gè)窗口。

Rats recall maze4 memories

老鼠回憶迷宮記憶

After rats run a maze during the day， they can rerun the same course while asleep，research has shown. When awake，a rats hippocampus5，a part of the brain responsible6 for making and storing memories， remembers the neuron7 pattern8 of running the maze.

研究表明，老鼠白天走完迷宮后，它們可以在睡覺時(shí)重復(fù)同樣的過程。當(dāng)老鼠清醒時(shí)，老鼠的海馬體（大腦中負(fù)責(zé)制造和存儲(chǔ)記憶的部分）會(huì)記住走迷宮時(shí)的神經(jīng)元模式。

Later when asleep， the brain reproduces the pattern， suggesting the rat remembers or relearns the maze all over again. This 2001 finding was one of the first to suggest that animals had complex dreams. And it was just the beginning.

隨后，當(dāng)老鼠睡著時(shí)，大腦會(huì)重現(xiàn)這個(gè)模式，這表明老鼠會(huì)再次記住或重新學(xué)習(xí)走迷宮。2001年的這一發(fā)現(xiàn)是最早表明動(dòng)物有復(fù)雜夢(mèng)境的發(fā)現(xiàn)之一。而這僅僅是一個(gè)開始。

A lot of things suggest during sleep rats will have lots of experiences， which happened when they are not sleeping. The interesting part is，if thats whats going on，what does it mean？ That maybe ratsdreams.

很多事情都表明，在睡眠期間，老鼠會(huì)有很多經(jīng)歷，這些經(jīng)歷發(fā)生在它們沒有睡覺的時(shí)候。有趣的是，如果是這樣的話，那意味著什么呢？那可能就是老鼠的夢(mèng)。

Zebra finches9 remember songs

斑胸草雀記憶歌曲

Known for their songs， zebra finches aren't born singers. The birds must learn by listening， practicing， and， perhaps， by dreaming. In 2000 researchers leamed that while the birds sleep， their brain replicates10 the songs they heard and sang that day. It suggests the birds remember and practice songs in their sleep.

斑胸草雀以歌聲而聞名，但它們并不是天生的歌手。這種鳥兒必須通過傾聽、練習(xí)，或許還有做夢(mèng)來學(xué)習(xí)。2000年，研究人員發(fā)現(xiàn)，當(dāng)斑胸草雀睡覺時(shí)，它們的大腦會(huì)復(fù)制當(dāng)天聽過和唱過的歌。這表明這種鳥在睡眠中記憶并練習(xí)歌曲。

After further research over 20 years， finches were the first non-mammalsll found to have a similar sleep as humans， including REM sleep. More recent work shows that the birds also move their vocal muscles to match the music in their brains. They can be made to sing a song played to them in their sleep.

經(jīng)過20多年的進(jìn)一步研究，雀類是第一批被發(fā)現(xiàn)擁有與人類類似睡眠的非哺乳動(dòng)物，包括快速眼動(dòng)睡眠。最近的研究表明，這些鳥還可以活動(dòng)它們的聲帶肌肉，以配合大腦中的音樂。它們?cè)谒瘔?mèng)中可以唱出播放的歌曲。

Fishes can also sleep

魚兒也會(huì)睡覺

Zebrafish also experience REM-like sleep. While sleeping， these fish lose muscle tone12， develop arrhythmic13 heartbeats14， and show brain activity that looks like that of an awake fish.

斑馬魚也會(huì)經(jīng)歷類似快速眼動(dòng)的睡眠。在睡覺時(shí)，這些魚會(huì)失去肌肉張力，產(chǎn)生心律失常的心跳，并表現(xiàn)出類似于魚清醒時(shí)的大腦活動(dòng)。

One big difference from humans， though not all other animals， was that the fish didn't move their eyes. The finding suggests that REM sleep， the state when most dreams start， may have evolved15 at least 450million years ago.

與人類（雖然不是所有其他動(dòng)物）的最大不同點(diǎn)是，魚不會(huì)眨眼。這個(gè)發(fā)現(xiàn)表明，大多數(shù)夢(mèng)開始時(shí)的快速眼動(dòng)睡眠狀態(tài)可能至少在4.5億年前就已經(jīng)進(jìn)化出來了。

Twenty years ago， people would say that fish dont even sleep. But why does dreaming matter？ Does REM sleep conservation16 across evolution17 mean that even fish might dream？

20年前，人們會(huì)說魚是不睡覺的。但為什么做夢(mèng)很重要呢？進(jìn)化過程中保存下來的快速眼動(dòng)睡眠是否意味著即使是魚也可能會(huì)做夢(mèng)？

Dreaming can be the preparing work our brain does for the coming day. It is not surprising if actual dreams were found in animals. At the end people will be able to show that by science.

做夢(mèng)可以是我們大腦為第二天所做的準(zhǔn)備工作。如果在動(dòng)物身上發(fā)現(xiàn)了真正的夢(mèng)境，這并不奇怪，最終人們將能夠用科學(xué)證明這一點(diǎn)。

People did something in the daytime，and the brain will replay it，integrate18 it， and mix it with other experiences. Well know that were not the only ones who can remember and learn some day.

人們白天做了某件事情，大腦會(huì)將其回放、整合，并與其他經(jīng)歷融合。總有一天我們會(huì)知道，我們不是唯一能記憶和學(xué)習(xí)的物種。

（英語原文選自：msn.com）