Some scientists have a question that keeps them awake at night.
The baby spiders were trained to jump at night. The spider's legs twitched and parts of their eyes flickered as they watched the footage.
The pattern was described as a REM sleep state. REM is an active phase of sleep when parts of the brain light up with activity.
Animals have been shown to experience REM sleep. It wasn't known if the jumping spider got the same kind of sleep because they didn't get as much attention.
They published their findings in the journal.
The sleep question was dug into by Roessler and her team after they discovered the spiders hanging at night. She found some jumping spiders that were brown in color and had four pairs of big eyes.
Roessler said that it was the most unusual thing he had ever seen.
She said the research showed the spiders looked like they were in REM sleep. They happened in regular cycles.
The study's co-author, Paul Shamble, an evolutionary biologist at Harvard University, said that it's hard to compare sleep cycles in species that don't have eyes that move.
Shamble said that these jumping spiders are predatory that move their eyes around to look for prey. Young spiders have a see-through outer layer that gives them a clear view.
Shamble said that sometimes as a Biologist you get really lucky.
The researchers are trying to figure out if the spiders are actually sleeping. If they respond more slowly or not at all, that's something they need to test.
The jumping spider is far away from humans. According to Jerry Siegel, a sleep researcher who was not involved with the study, it's doubtful that the spiders can actually sleep.
Siegel said that there could be animals that have activity in quiet states. Are they asleep? It's hard to picture them being the same thing.
A University of Wisconsin-La Crosse entomologist who was not involved in the study said it was exciting to find REM-like signs in a distant relative. He said there are many questions about how widespread REM sleep is.
REM sleep is still a black box.
More information: Daniela C. Rößler et al, Regularly occurring bouts of retinal movements suggest an REM sleep–like state in jumping spiders, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2022). DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2204754119 Journal information: Proceedings of the National Academy of SciencesThe Associated Press was published in 1992. All rights belong to the person. The material may not be published, broadcast, or redistributed.
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