Level 8 reading Dreaming and REM Sleep
داستان کوتاه درباره ی خواب دیدن و مراحل خواب
Dreaming and REM Sleep
Read the passage and then decide if the statements below are True or False. Write True or False in the gap
We typically spend more than 2 hours each night dreaming. Scientists do not know much about how or why we dream. Sigmund Freud, who greatly influenced the field of psychology, believed dreaming was a “safety valve” for unconscious desires. In 1953, researchers first described REM, rapid eye movement, in sleeping infants. It was after this that scientists began to study sleep and dreaming. They soon realized that the strange experiences we call dreams occur during REM sleep. While most mammals and birds show signs of REM sleep, reptiles and other cold blooded animals do not.
REM sleep begins with signals from an area at the base of the brain called the pons. These signals travel to a brain region called the thalamus, which relays them to the cerebral cortex – the outer layer of the brain that is responsible for learning, thinking, and organizing information.
The pons also sends signals that shut off neurons to the spinal cord, causing temporary paralysis of the limb muscles. If something interferes with this paralysis, people will begin to physically act out their dreams. A person dreaming about a ball game may run head first into a wall or blindly strike someone sleeping nearby while trying to catch a ball in the dream. This rare problem is called REM sleep behavior disorder.REM sleep stimulates the brain regions used in learning. This may be important for normal brain development during infancy. This would explain why infants spend much more time in REM sleep than adults.
One study found that REM sleep affects learning of certain mental skills. People taught a skill and then deprived of non-REM sleep could recall what they had learned after sleeping. People deprived of REM sleep could not recall what they had learned after sleeping. Some scientists believe dreams are the cortex’s attempt to find meaning in the random signals that it receives during REM sleep. The cortex is the part of the brain that interprets and organizes information during consciousness. It may also try to interpret the random signals from the pons during REM sleep; thus creating a “story” out of fragmented brain activity.
We might dream the whole night.
Our dreams can represent our desires.
The whole brain is responsible for our learning.
The pons can paralysis some muscles for short time.
People who start to act out while dreaming are not paralyzed.
Adults spend as much time in REM as infants.
REM sleep can help us recall what we have learned.
| Word | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| valve | a part of a tube or pipe that opens and shuts like a door to control the flow of liquid, gas, air etc passing through it | heart valves |
| unconscious (adj) | a feeling or thought that is unconscious is one that you have without realizing it | an unconscious need to be loved. |
| mammal (noun) | a type of animal that drinks milk from its mother’s body when it is young. Humans, dogs, and whales are mammals |
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| reptile (noun) | a type of animal, such as a snake or LIZARD, whose body temperature changes according to the temperature around it, and that usually lays eggs to have babies |
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| responsible (adjective) | having a duty to be in charge of or to look after someone or something | Mills is responsible for a budget of over $5 million. |
| temporary (adjective) | continuing for only a limited period of time OPP permanent | I’m living with my parents, but it’s only temporary. |
| interfere (verb) | to deliberately get involved in a situation where you are not wanted or needed SYN meddle | My daughter-in-law said that I was interfering, but I was only trying to help. |
| strike (verb) | to hit or fall against the surface of something | She fell heavily, striking her head against the side of the boat. |
| stimulate (verb) | to encourage or help an activity to begin or develop further OPP suppress | the President’s plan to stimulate economic growth |
| deprived (adjective) | not having the things that are necessary for a comfortable or happy life | Deprived children tend to do less well at school. |
| attempt (noun) | an act of trying to do something, especially something difficult | All attempts to control inflation have failed. |
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