• Question: do animals dream and does that mean they have an unconscious mind?

    Asked by mcmanus94 to Charlotte, Jo, Kevin, Louise, Valeria on 11 Jun 2012. This question was also asked by sadaf, b1103301, eveve.
    • Photo: Kevin Mahon

      Kevin Mahon answered on 11 Jun 2012:

      Researchers have gathered some evidence that would lead us to believe that animals do experience dream like states (this was done by observing brain activity in sleeping animals)- the purpose of dreaming is still somewhat unknown.

      Examples of evidence of dreaming include rats going over routes in mazes they have previously run in their sleep and some species of song birds replaying their birdsong tune in sleep. Primatologists working with gorillas that use sign language have also reported them describing their dreams/nightmares.

      We know that many animals undergo REM sleep (rapid eye movement sleep) which is know for being the most ‘dream heavy’ sleep humans experience. However, this is not necessarily evidence for dreaming itself!

      All in all, there are some interesting case studies and reports but we cannot conclusively state that animals experience dreams the way we do! More conclusive studies will no doubt be conducted in the future!

    • Photo: Joanna Cruden

      Joanna Cruden answered on 11 Jun 2012:

      It is certainly appears that animals do seem to dream, there has been research which demonstrates they may have dream like states and this could help in treatments of memory disorders such as Alzheimer’s. Dreams are measured in rats by studying the firing patters of neuron cells in their brains while they are awake and asleep. It is an interesting question but not one that is easy to answer although there is evidence to suggest they do and my own (unscientific) observations of my dogs when they are asleep are that they do seem to have dreams and ‘talk’ in their sleep.

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