DennasMom
Well-Known Member
Very interesting article - they talk about all sorts of animals and the twitchy sleeping habits of babies in all species. They also have links to some twitchy puppy videos. 
http://phenomena.nationalgeographic.com/2013/06/20/why-do-babies-twitch-in-their-sleep-adorable-video-edition/
The gist:
...A decade ago, two big Nature papers reinvigorated the idea that sleep twitches are important, Blumberg says. In the first, Swedish scientists reported that in young rats, spontaneous muscle twitches during sleep help program the cells in the spinal cord to carry out the withdrawal reflex. In the second paper, a French group showed that sleep twitches in newborn rats trigger patterned bursts of neuronal firing that are known to be important for motor coordination. Blumberg’s own experiments have found similar things; last year, for example, he reported that newborn rats twitch their whiskers frequently during sleep, and that these twitches drive certain bursts of activity in several brain regions.
http://phenomena.nationalgeographic.com/2013/06/20/why-do-babies-twitch-in-their-sleep-adorable-video-edition/
The gist:
...A decade ago, two big Nature papers reinvigorated the idea that sleep twitches are important, Blumberg says. In the first, Swedish scientists reported that in young rats, spontaneous muscle twitches during sleep help program the cells in the spinal cord to carry out the withdrawal reflex. In the second paper, a French group showed that sleep twitches in newborn rats trigger patterned bursts of neuronal firing that are known to be important for motor coordination. Blumberg’s own experiments have found similar things; last year, for example, he reported that newborn rats twitch their whiskers frequently during sleep, and that these twitches drive certain bursts of activity in several brain regions.
