Audio and Video Files
Video shows orca mother and calf at 4 weeks postpartum, at which point some sleep behavior has just begun to return in the mother. The neonate, circling and vocalizing, remains more active than the mother during this recording, as it does throughout development. |
News stories describing study of sleep behavior in killer whales, dolphins and their calves after birth:
- Video ScienCentral (Quicktime .mov)
- NPR radio interview (.mp3)
- Alaskan NPR radio interview (.mp3)
- Why we sleep - Slate Online (.mp3)
Related Information:
Lyamin, O. Julia Pryaslova, J. Lance, V. and Siegel, J.M. Continuous activity in cetaceans after birth, Nature 435:1177, 2005. (Supplementary Information)
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Video of untreated and of immunosuppressed narcoleptic dogs during food elicited cataplexy tests (FECTs) and the play behavior of the treated dogs.The first segment shows the administration of the FECT to three untreated narcoleptic littermate dogs, age 2.5 months. Dogs are labeled by shaved bands on their backs. Cataplexy is visible as a loss of muscle tone in the hind or fore limbs, drooping tail, sagging posture, wide stance, swaying, drooping eyelids, or interruption of eating caused by jaw hypotonia. The second segment shows the same test administered on the same day to the treated littermates of the dogs shown in the first segment. Little or no cataplexy is seen. Finally, the play segment, also filmed on the same day, shows that the lack of cataplexy in the treated animals is not accompanied by a behavioral depression. Play behavior is vigorous and normal. |
See: Boehmer, LN, Wu, M.-F. John, J and Siegel, JM Pharmacological treatment delays onset of canine genetic narcolepsy and reduces symptom severity Experimental Neurology 188:292-299, 2004.(Pdf)
The platypus and short nosed echidna are monotremes, egg-laying mammals that have many characteristics of the reptilian predecessors of the mammals. Although originally thought to lack REM sleep, both species have aspects of this state, with the platypus actually having more REM sleep than any other mammal. |
Related Articles:
- Siegel, J.M., P. Manger, R. Nienhuis, H.M Fahringer and J. Pettigrew. The echidna Tachyglossus aculeatus combines REM and Non-REM aspects in a single sleep state: implications for the evolution of sleep. J. Neuroscience 16:3500-3506, 1996
- Siegel, J.M. Sleep in monotremes; implications for the evolution of REM sleep. In Sleep and sleep disorders: from molecule to behavior. O. Hayaishi and S. Inoue (Eds.)., Academic Press, Tokyo, 113-128, 1997.(Pdf)
- Siegel, J.M., P. Manger, R. Nienhuis, H.M Fahringer and J. Pettigrew, Monotremes and the evolution of REM sleep. Phil. Trans. of the Royal Soc., 353:1147-1157, 1998.(Pdf)
- Siegel, J.M. The evolution of REM sleep. In: Handbook of Behavioral State Control., Lydic, R and Baghdoyan (Eds.), pp 87-100, CRC Press, Boca Raton, 1999.
- Siegel, J.M., Manger, P.R., Nienhuis, R., Fahringer, H.M. and Pettigrew, J.D. Sleep in the platypus. Neuroscience 91: 391-400, 1999.
- Siegel, J.M. The REM sleep-memory consolidation hypothesis.Science294:1058-1063, 2001.
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National Public Radio story on discovery of cause of human narcolepsy. Listen on NPR site, via iTunes or download MP3. |
NATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO October 2, 2003, Joe Palca: Getting to the Bottom of REM: A Look At The Discovery That Transformed Sleep Research. (Link to .WAV file)
Related Information
Aserinsky,E. Memories of famous neuropsychologists: The discovery of REM sleep. J. of the History of the Neurosciences 5, 213-227 (1996).
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