Short Summary: A deep dive into the enigmatic world of sleep, exploring its biological functions, evolutionary origins, and the diverse manifestations across different species.
About the Guest: Vlad Vyazovskiy, PhD is a Professor of Sleep Physiology at the Department of Physiology, Anatomy, and Genetics at Oxford University.
Note: Podcast episodes are fully available to paid subscribers on the M&M Substack and on YouTube. Partial versions are available elsewhere.
Episode Summary: Dr. Vlad Vyazovskiy discusses the complexities and mysteries of sleep, challenging the notion that sleep's function is fully understood. He explains how sleep might serve different purposes across species, from being a recuperative period to possibly being a default state of existence. The conversation covers sleep's behavioral and neural definitions, the variability in sleep patterns among animals like penguins and dolphins, and how sleep might relate to synaptic plasticity, metabolism, and even survival strategies like hibernation. Vyazovskiy also touches on his research with psychedelics, showing how these substances can induce unique brain states that blur the lines between wakefulness and sleep.
Key Takeaways:
Sleep as a Mystery: Despite extensive research, the fundamental reason why animals sleep remains elusive, with no comprehensive theory yet agreed upon.
Local Sleep Phenomenon: Sleep might not be a whole-brain event; even within a sleeping brain, different areas can be in different states of activity or rest.
Sleep in Animals: Sleep varies widely among species, from micro-sleeps in penguins to unihemispheric sleep in dolphins, suggesting sleep could serve multiple, context-dependent functions.
Synaptic Homeostasis: The hypothesis suggests that sleep could be crucial for renormalizing synaptic connections formed during wakefulness, although this idea is still under scrutiny.
Hibernation & Torpor: These states relate to sleep but involve significant metabolic changes, possibly acting as survival mechanisms by conserving energy and reducing detectability by predators.
Psychedelics & Sleep: Research shows psychedelics like 5-MeO-DMT can induce states where animals show signs of sleep in their brain activity while physically active, hinting at complex interactions between brain states and consciousness.
Related episodes:
M&M #43: Sleep, Dreaming, Deep Neural Networks, Machine Learning & Artificial Intelligence, Overfitted Brain Hypothesis, Evolution of Fiction & Art | Erik Hoel
M&M #16: Sleep, Dreams, Memory & the Brain | Bob Stickgold
*Not medical advice.
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