In the sleep cycle of people, we shift between two stages: fast eye motion (REM) and non-rapid eye motion (NREM) sleep. When we are simply starting to drift off, nrem sleep represents the tranquil stage that happens. Throughout REM sleep, our brains take part in processing the events of the day, and dreaming functions as a mechanism to take in that info.
” All animals seem to reveal some kind of sleep, even basic animals like jellyfish and fruit flies. For a long time, just vertebrates were known to cycle in between 2 different sleep phases,” Sam Reiter, the senior author of the study and researcher at Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST) in Japan, stated in a media statement.
Credit: Unsplash.
A group of researchers recently dug into the study of octopus sleep, examining their brain patterns and skin markings throughout their active duration of sleep. Remarkably, they found that these patterns closely look like those observed when octopuses are awake.
This wake-like activity in their sleep bears resemblances to the brain patterns observed during rapid-eye-movement sleep (REM) sleep in mammals, a stage known for its association with dreams.
Throughout their rest, moments of serenity are periodically interrupted by short episodes of frenetic motion. Their limbs and eyes twitch, their breathing accelerates, and their skin displays vibrant colors, developing an enchanting phenomenon.
Octopuses oversleep a manner remarkably comparable to humans, and there is proof to recommend that they may even dream. While these intelligent creatures are renowned for their cognitive capabilities, their sleeping patterns are equally interesting.
Sleeping (and dreaming) time
While awake, octopuses have a complex control system over many pigmented cells present in their skin, allowing them to develop unique skin patterns. These serve multiple functions, consisting of camouflage and communication through social or threat displays. During active sleep, octopuses cycled through the same skin patterns, the scientists discovered.
The study was released in the journal Nature.
There are numerous possible descriptions for this. One hypothesis recommends that octopuses practice their skin changing in order to enhance their camouflage abilities while awake or to just preserve their pigment cells. Another proposes that they might be discovering from their waking experiences by reactivating particular skin patterns.
In addition to studying brain activity, the scientists also caught and evaluated the modifications in the skin patterns of the octopuses during both wakefulness and sleep, using an ultra-high-resolution 8K recording.
” This countervailing behavior pin downs the active phase as being an important stage of sleep that is required for octopuses to appropriately operate,” Aditi Pophale, co-first author of the research study and PhD trainee at OIST, said in a declaration
Using an innovative microscope developed by co-first author Dr. Tomoyuki Mano, the scientists found that these sleep spindle-like waves manifested in specific areas of the octopuses brains associated with knowing and memory. This finding suggests that these waves potentially serve a similar memory-related function as they perform in people.
Throughout quiet sleep, this octopus appears white and motionless. Image credits: Keishu Asada.
The researchers also examined the elaborate brain activity of octopuses during both wakefulness and sleep. During quiet sleep, they observed distinctive brain wave patterns that bore a striking resemblance to sleep spindles, which are observed during non-REM sleep in mammalian brains. The specific function of these waveforms remains uncertain, even in the context of human sleep.
” In this sense, while humans can verbally report what type of dreams they had just once they wake, the octopuses skin pattern acts as a visual readout of their brain activity during sleep,” Reiter stated in a declaration.
” We were able to observe the behavior of private pigmented cells and acquire insights into the total skin pattern development,” described research study author Leenoy Meshulam.
” We presently dont know which of these descriptions, if any, might be correct. We are really interested in investigating further.”
Roughly when every hour, the octopuses entered an active sleep phase lasting approximately one minute. Extremely, during this active sleep phase, their brain activity closely resembled their wakeful brain activity, comparable to the phenomenon of REM sleep in humans.
To identify if octopuses were genuinely asleep throughout their active rest stage, the researchers performed experiments to evaluate their responsiveness to physical stimuli. They discovered that throughout both the quiet and active phases of sleep, the octopuses required stronger stimulation before responding. Additionally, when prevented from sleeping, they entered the active sleep phase more regularly and quicker.
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The researchers likewise examined the detailed brain activity of octopuses during both wakefulness and sleep. Throughout quiet sleep, they observed unique brain wave patterns that bore a striking resemblance to sleep spindles, which are observed during non-REM sleep in mammalian brains. Throughout active sleep, octopuses cycled through the exact same skin patterns, the researchers discovered.
In the sleep cycle of humans, we transition between two stages: fast eye movement (REM) and non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep. When prevented from sleeping, they entered the active sleep stage more frequently and sooner.