Avian Versus Mammalian Sleep: the Fruits of Comparing Apples and Oranges

Rattenborg, Niels Christian; Martı́nez-González, Dolores

doi:10.1007/s40675-014-0001-9

Cited by 21 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 83 publications

(86 reference statements)

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“…We believe that our results offer a first indication of how artificial light affects sleep in free-living birds and that these results could also be relevant for other animals exposed to light pollution as they are exposed to similar and even higher light intensities 16 48 . However, we recognise that besides similarities there are also differences in sleep between mammals, birds and invertebrates 58 59 60 as well as between different bird species (e.g. 42 43 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 89%

Light pollution disrupts sleep in free-living animals

Raap

Pinxten

Eens

2015

Sci Rep

185

191

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Artificial lighting can alter individual behaviour, with often drastic and potentially negative effects on biological rhythms, daily activity and reproduction. Whether this is caused by a disruption of sleep, an important widespread behaviour enabling animals to recover from daily stress, is unclear. We tested the hypothesis that light pollution disrupts sleep by recording individual sleep behaviour of great tits, Parus major, that were roosting in dark nest-boxes and were exposed to light-emitting diode light the following night. Their behaviour was compared to that of control birds sleeping in dark nest-boxes on both nights. Artificial lighting caused experimental birds to wake up earlier, sleep less (–5%) and spent less time in the nest-box as they left their nest-box earlier in the morning. Experimental birds did not enter the nest-box or fall asleep later than controls. Although individuals in lit nest-boxes did not wake up more often nor decreased the length of their sleep bouts, females spent a greater proportion of the night awake. Our study provides the first direct proof that light pollution has a significant impact on sleep in free-living animals, in particular in the morning, and highlights a mechanism for potential effects of light pollution on fitness.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 89%

Light pollution disrupts sleep in free-living animals

Raap

Pinxten

Eens

2015

Sci Rep

185

191

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“…A common (albeit not universal) electrophysiological correlate of behavioral sleep in reptiles is intermittent high-voltage sharp waves (HVS) in the reptilian cortex and the dorsal ventricular ridge [Hartse, 1994;Shein-Idelson et al, 2016]. Several investigators have suggested that HVS reflect neural activity comparable to that occurring in the mammalian hippocampus during SWS [Hartse, 1994;Shein-Idelson et al, 2016], whereas others have suggested that HVS are homologous in some respects to SWS-related slow waves [Rattenborg and Martinez-Gonzalez, 2014]. Despite these different opinions, most researchers agree that HVS occur during a state homologous to SWS in mammals and birds.…”

Section: Evolution Of Sws and Rem Sleep: Convergence Or Inheritance?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Sleep-Related Electrophysiology and Behavior of Tinamous (<b><i>Eudromia elegans</i></b>): Tinamous Do Not Sleep Like Ostriches

Tisdale¹,

Vyssotski²,

Lesku³

et al. 2017

Brain Behav Evol

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The functions of slow wave sleep (SWS) and rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, distinct sleep substates present in both mammals and birds, remain unresolved. One approach to gaining insight into their function is to trace the evolution of these states through examining sleep in as many taxonomic groups as possible. The mammalian and avian clades are each composed of two extant groups, i.e., the monotremes (echidna and platypus) and therian (marsupial and eutherian [or placental]) mammals, and Palaeognaths (cassowaries, emus, kiwi, ostriches, rheas, and tinamous) and Neognaths (all other birds) among birds. Previous electrophysiological studies of monotremes and ostriches have identified a unique “mixed” sleep state combining features of SWS and REM sleep unlike the well-delineated sleep states observed in all therian mammals and Neognath birds. In the platypus this state is characterized by periods of REM sleep-related myoclonic twitching, relaxed skeletal musculature, and rapid eye movements, occurring in conjunction with SWS-related slow waves in the forebrain electroencephalogram (EEG). A similar mixed state was also observed in ostriches; although in addition to occurring during periods with EEG slow waves, reduced muscle tone and rapid eye movements also occurred in conjunction with EEG activation, a pattern typical of REM sleep in Neognath birds. Collectively, these studies suggested that REM sleep occurring exclusively as an integrated state with forebrain activation might have evolved independently in the therian and Neognath lineages. To test this hypothesis, we examined sleep in the elegant crested tinamou (Eudromia elegans), a small Palaeognath bird that more closely resembles Neognath birds in size and their ability to fly. A 24-h period was scored for sleep state based on electrophysiology and behavior. Unlike ostriches, but like all of the Neognath birds examined, all indicators of REM sleep usually occurred in conjunction with forebrain activation in tinamous. The absence of a mixed REM sleep state in tinamous calls into question the idea that this state is primitive among Palaeognath birds and therefore birds in general.

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“…Although sleep is broadly expressed [1,2], a subset of species have developed specialized forms of sleep. Rapid eye movement sleep (REM) and slow wave sleep (SWS), with their associated changes in cortical activation, are found only in mammals and birds [3][4][5][6][7][8]. Many hypotheses of sleep in mammals ascribe specific functions to REM, SWS, and features thereof [9][10][11][12][13][14].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Budgerigars have complex sleep structure similar to that of mammals

Canavan

Margoliash

2020

PLoS Biol

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Birds and mammals share specialized forms of sleep including slow wave sleep (SWS) and rapid eye movement sleep (REM), raising the question of why and how specialized sleep evolved. Extensive prior studies concluded that avian sleep lacked many features characteristic of mammalian sleep, and therefore that specialized sleep must have evolved independently in birds and mammals. This has been challenged by evidence of more complex sleep in multiple songbird species. To extend this analysis beyond songbirds, we examined a species of parrot, the sister taxon to songbirds. We implanted adult budgerigars (Melopsittacus undulatus) with electroencephalogram (EEG) and electrooculogram (EOG) electrodes to evaluate sleep architecture, and video monitored birds during sleep. Sleep was scored with manual and automated techniques, including automated detection of slow waves and eye movements. This can help define a new standard for how to score sleep in birds. Budgerigars exhibited consolidated sleep, a pattern also observed in songbirds, and many mammalian species, including humans. We found that REM constituted 26.5% of total sleep, comparable to humans and an order of magnitude greater than previously reported. Although we observed no spindles, we found a clear state of intermediate sleep (IS) similar to non-REM (NREM) stage 2. Across the night, SWS decreased and REM increased, as observed in mammals and songbirds. Slow wave activity (SWA) fluctuated with a 29-min ultradian rhythm, indicating a tendency to move systematically through sleep states as observed in other species with consolidated sleep. These results are at variance with numerous older sleep studies, including for budgerigars. Here, we demonstrated that lighting conditions used in the prior budgerigar study—and commonly used in older bird studies—dramatically disrupted budgerigar sleep structure, explaining the prior results. Thus, it is likely that more complex sleep has been overlooked in a broad range of bird species. The similarities in sleep architecture observed in mammals, songbirds, and now budgerigars, alongside recent work in reptiles and basal birds, provide support for the hypothesis that a common amniote ancestor possessed the precursors that gave rise to REM and SWS at one or more loci in the parallel evolution of sleep in higher vertebrates. We discuss this hypothesis in terms of the common plan of forebrain organization shared by reptiles, birds, and mammals.

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Avian Versus Mammalian Sleep: the Fruits of Comparing Apples and Oranges

Cited by 21 publications

References 83 publications

Light pollution disrupts sleep in free-living animals

Light pollution disrupts sleep in free-living animals

Sleep-Related Electrophysiology and Behavior of Tinamous (<b><i>Eudromia elegans</i></b>): Tinamous Do Not Sleep Like Ostriches

Budgerigars have complex sleep structure similar to that of mammals

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