A brand-new research study has actually discovered that, when pigeons sleep, they might experience visions of flight.
The research study, released in Nature Communications, took a look at brain activation patterns in sleeping pigeons, utilizing practical magnetic resonance imaging. It discovered that the majority of the brain in the pigeons evaluated was extremely active throughout rapid-eye-movement sleep (RAPID EYE MOVEMENT) sleep, comparable to mammals.
During sleep, the brain experiences a complex set of procedures to guarantee we awaken sensation revitalized. In human beings, the various stages of sleep – rapid eye movement and non-REM sleep – are connected with unique modifications in physiology, brain activity, and cognition.
The research study intended to discover whether comparable procedures likewise happen in birds. The scientists utilized infrared camera and practical magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to record the sleeping and wakeful states of 15 pigeons specifically trained to sleep under speculative conditions.
The research study utilized infrared camera and practical magnetic resonance imaging to record the sleeping and wakeful states of 15 pigeons (Barry Matlock).
The video recordings clarified the sleep stages in the birds. “We had the ability to observe whether one or both eyes were open or closed, and to track eye motions and modifications in student size through the pigeons’ transparent eyelids throughout sleep,” said Mehdi Behroozi from the research study group. Simultaneously, the fMRI recordings supplied info about brain activation and the circulation of cerebral spine fluid in the ventricles.
“During rapid eye movement, we observed strong activity in brain areas accountable for visual processing, consisting of in those locations that evaluate the motion of a pigeon’s environments throughout flight. Based on these observations, we believe that birds, similar to human beings, dream throughout rapid eye movement, and may be experiencing flight in their dreams.”
Additionally, the researchers discovered activation of a specific brain location called the amygdala throughout these stages. “This recommends that if birds experience something comparable to our human dreams, pigeons’ dreams may consist of feelings too,” says Gianina Ungurean from the Avian Sleep Group at the Max Planck Institute for Biological Intelligence. This hypothesis is supported by the reality that the birds’ students agreement quickly throughout rapid eye movement, like they do throughout courtship or aggressive behaviours while awake.
Reference
Behroozi, M, Böger, L, Helluy, X, Güntürkün, O, Libourel, P-A, Rattenborg, N C, & Ungurean, G. 2023. Wide-spread brain activation and reduced CSF flow during avian REM sleep. Nature Communications. DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-38669-1
