Can chordates (especially, dogs and monkeys, baboons(sp), chimpanzee etc.) dream? I’m sure most dog owners have noted that their dogs squeal, pant, and whimper while asleep. Is this their version of “talking in their sleep” in response to dreams? If not, then why does this happen. What about animals in hibernation. Do they dream?
Many animals experience rapid eye movement, which suggests that they dream.
Also, in the movies you see a dog sleeping and it cuts to a dream sequence - that’s enough evidence for me.
All mammals, at some point during their sleep, exibit similar brainwave patterns to those seen in dreaming humans. We can’t know, of course, what sensations the animals are experiencing at that point, but then, I can’t really know what sensations any other human is experiencing, either.
Short answer: Yes, they dream.
I know I read somewhere about a study done on cats. I think it was Landscapes of the Night : How and Why We Dream
by Christopher Riche Evans. Fascinating book.
Anyway, they rewired the part of the brain responsible for disconnecting the voluntary muscles during REM sleep. You know how the plug is pulled on your limbs during your dreams, or else you’d be physically acting them out in your sleep? They bypassed that for these cats.
The cats would be asleep, but instead of just lying there they’d be stalking, pouncing and doing other hunting behavior. It seemed to indicate that they were dreaming, and acting it out because of the surgery.
It made sense too that a cat dreams about predatory behavior. The idea that one of the benefits of REM is to allow an individual to “practice” stuff has become a topic of study in sleep research, but that’s a whole 'nother thread.
My pup marge is a riot when she sleeps. She makes whining heavy breathing noises, and when she’s on her side her little feet actually “walk” every once in a while.
Anyway, I read somewhere recently and I do not have a cite (I think it was in a magazine at the vet’s office), that what we consider or perceive to be ‘dreaming’ by these animals is actually them ‘reliving their day’. They’ll mentally go through the actions.
In other words, my dog isn’t dreaming that she’s having brett favre’s baby and keeping it in a jar.
I hope.
jarbaby