2023-05-27 06:30:32
While octopuses are known to change color when they dream, recent observations suggest these fascinating animals may also be prone to nightmares.
restless dreams
Pre-published on the server bioRxivthis new research involved the close monitoring of a male individual of the Brazilian species Octopus insularis, housed at Rockefeller University in New York. Viewing hours of footage captured by cameras trained on his pelvis showed sudden changes in his coloration accompanied by unusual movements as he apparently dozed off.
The team surmised that much like the dog wagging its paws while sleeping, the animal’s body language directly reflected the content of its dream. On different occasions, the cephalopod even woke up abruptly, vigorously shaking its limbs and expelling a spray of ink, as if trying to fend off a predator.
« The behavioral sequences displayed by this octopus upon awakening from disturbed sleep were similar to behavioral responses to nightmares, night terrors, and other parasomnias in humans, with a narrative structure resembling defense behaviors while awake. in cephalopods write the researchers.
These observations concern only one specimen, it is for the moment impossible to affirm that it is about a behavior specific to the species or to the octopuses in general. However, the possibility that the dreams of these remarkably intelligent creatures reflect the darker aspects of their existence would not be surprising.
An essential function
Interestingly, cephalopods and mammals are extremely far apart on the tree of life: our most recent common ancestor was a primitive flatworm that lived around 750 million years ago. However, this real temporal gap did not prevent the two groups from developing the ability to dream, suggesting the essential nature of this function for intelligent life.
« The potential occurrence of this phenomenon in octopuses would shed unexpected light on the convergent evolution of sleep in organisms that are distant from each other and have complex neural structures. “, conclude the researchers.
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