A thought of Marilyn Monroe activate particular brain cells

媒体英语会带大家一起学习BBC撰稿人在报道世界大事时常用到的单词和短语。

Background:美国加利福尼亚州的研究人员最近称，在不久的将来很可能会出现能精确记录人类梦境的技术。这种技术还可以记录人类大脑的活动。

The idea of a machine recording dreams sounds fanciful but a research team in California is to explore whether it might be possible - at least in a limited way.

A study by the team suggests that the activity of individual brain cells, or neurons, is associated with specific objects: for example when a volunteer was thinking of the actress Marilyn Monroe - a particular neuron lit up.

By showing volunteers a series of images the team was able to identify neurons associated with a wide range of objects and concepts.

The next step for the researchers is to see whether they can make sense of the brain waves of sleeping volunteers and if so whether they correlate with the accounts of the volunteers actual dreams.

• research [ri´sə:tʃ]   n.&vi.调查；探究；研究   (初中英语单词)
• california [,kæli´fɔ:njə]   n.加利福尼亚   (初中英语单词)
• series [´siəri:z]   n.连续；系列；丛书   (初中英语单词)
• identify [ai´dentifai]   vt.认出；鉴定；验明   (初中英语单词)
• sleeping [´sli:piŋ]   n.&a.睡着(的)   (初中英语单词)
• actual [´æktʃuəl]   a.现实的；实际的   (初中英语单词)
• explore [ik´splɔ:]   v.勘探；探索；探查   (高中英语单词)
• limited [´limitid]   a.有限(制)的   (高中英语单词)
• specific [spi´sifik]   a.具体的；特有的   (高中英语单词)
• volunteer [,vɔlən´tiə]   n.志愿者 v.自愿做   (高中英语单词)
• actress [´æktris]   n.女演员   (高中英语单词)