Dream. Record. Rewind.

Forget what you dreamed about last night? Wish you could replay it? Until now, this has been the stuff of fantasy. But a team of scientists in Japan has come one step closer to unlocking the mysteries of our dreams.

According to an article in the Telegraph, the researchers have developed a device that transfers the “processing and imaging of thoughts and dreams” from subjects’ brains to a computer screen. So far, the technology can only recreate simple images, but according to a spokesman at ATR Computational Neuroscience Laboratories, it’s a big breakthrough: "It was the first time in the world that it was possible to visualize what people see directly from the brain activity.”

The research focused on how images are processed in the retina of the human eye, as well as how the brain’s electrical signals are captured and translated into images. It will be published in the journal Neuron.

The ATR spokesman confirms our wildest dreams: "By applying this technology, it may become possible to record and replay subjective images that people perceive like dreams." Just imagine -- your dreams on YouTube.

(Photo by Annemiek van der Kuil)