Naked Science Forum

Life Sciences => Physiology & Medicine => Topic started by: that mad man on 07/05/2007 00:44:35

Title: animal dreaming
Post by: that mad man on 07/05/2007 00:44:35

OK, not sure if this is the right place but:

Most of us dream but why do some animals also dream?

My now departed dog Edith used to dream, her legs would go as if running and her body would twitch. Sometimes she would give out a muffled bark as she dreamt!
Similar things with the cat, his whiskers and face will twitch and sometime his legs do the same.

I thought dreaming was to do with being human, so what do animals dream of and why?

Bee

Title: animal dreaming
Post by: another_someone on 07/05/2007 00:56:51

Dreaming is an inherent function of the brain.

There are lots of speculative theories about what sleep and/or dreaming does, although a common belief is that it is used to rearrange (re-index) memories accumulated during waking hours (this would be just as pertinent for a dog as a human).

The more interesting question would be is more primitive animals, such as insects, also dream - how would we know (how do you do an EEG on an ant)?