Phylogeny and the Function of REM Sleep

Overview

Journal Behav Brain Res

Specialties Neurology
Psychology
Social Sciences

Date 1995 Jul 1

PMID 7546315

Citations 11

Authors

J M Siegel

Affiliations

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Abstract

Phylogenetic studies in placental and marsupial mammals have demonstrated three major correlates of increased REM sleep time across these species. These are high amounts of non-REM sleep time, safe sleep conditions and immaturity at birth. While these variables explain approximately 30% of the variance in REM sleep time across these orders, these relations are violated when animals other than placentals are included. Birds are small, many have safe sleeping situations and are certainly immature at birth, yet they have less REM sleep than the vast majority of mammals. The echidna is immature at birth, has high amounts of non-REM sleep and safe sleeping conditions, yet has been reported to have no REM sleep. Our recent studies in the echidna indicate that REM and non-REM sleep did not evolve sequentially, but rather evolved as a differentiation of a primitive state which held the seeds of both sleep states. The echidna sleeps with an activated brainstem and EEG synchronized forebrain. Future studies of sleep phylogeny need to compare the behavior of key neuronal groups across the sleep cycle, since these results indicate that EEG variables and sleep state durations may given an inadequate picture of the nature of brain activity during sleep.

Citing Articles

Unraveling the Mysteries of Sleep: Exploring Phylogenomic Sleep Signals in the Recently Characterized Archaeal Phylum Lokiarchaeota near Loki's Castle.

Pandi-Perumal S, Saravanan K, Paul S, Spence D, Chidambaram S Int J Mol Sci. 2025; 26(1.

PMID: 39795919 PMC: 11719702. DOI: 10.3390/ijms26010060.

Budgerigars have complex sleep structure similar to that of mammals.

Canavan S, Margoliash D PLoS Biol. 2020; 18(11):e3000929.

PMID: 33201883 PMC: 7707536. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3000929.

Sleep of Children with High Potentialities: A Polysomnographic Study.

Guignard-Perret A, Thieux M, Guyon A, Mazza S, Zhang M, Revol O J Clin Med. 2020; 9(10).

PMID: 33008092 PMC: 7600350. DOI: 10.3390/jcm9103182.

Circuit mechanisms and computational models of REM sleep.

Herice C, Patel A, Sakata S Neurosci Res. 2018; 140:77-92.

PMID: 30118737 PMC: 6403104. DOI: 10.1016/j.neures.2018.08.003.

Relevance of deprivation studies in understanding rapid eye movement sleep.

Mehta R, Khan S, Mallick B Nat Sci Sleep. 2018; 10:143-158.

PMID: 29881316 PMC: 5983021. DOI: 10.2147/NSS.S140621.

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