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Japanese scientists say they have found a way to "read" people's dreams. Researchers the ATR Computational Neuroscience Laboratories used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) what they say is, "the world's first decoding" night-time visions. Their research is published the journal "Science". The researchers wrote: "Visual imagery sleep has long been a topic persistent speculation, but its private nature has hampered objective analysis. Here, we present a neural decoding approach which machine learning models predict the contents visual imagery during sleep." They were able to predict what images their volunteers had seen a 60 per cent accuracy rate.

The research is a part a wider programme aimed studying the brain. It hopes to unlock the secrets the unconscious mind to help the disabled move artificial limbs using brain activity. It could also help those dementia and other neurological conditions. A spokesperson said: "Our expectations the dream study are quite high, but we are also looking carefully at the ethical aspects the technology, which may allow a third person to look somebody else's thoughts." Head researcher Yukiyasu Kamitani said, "dreams have fascinated people ancient times, but their function and meaning has remained closed". He believes his research is "a key step reading dreams more precisely".