Getting-ready-to-sleep behaviour hard wired in brains for survival, study in mice finds

Updated: Sep 23 2023 3:41PM

New Delhi, Sep 23 (PTI) Scientists tired out mice only to find that it triggered them to "build a nest", or in other words, to "get ready for bed".

The team of researchers, led by Imperial College London, made the mice sleepy by presenting them with Lego bricks and other toys every half an hour for five hours and preventing them from napping.

The researchers then observed their behaviour and brain activity when they were eventually allowed to fall asleep using optogenetics, whereby particular brain cells can be artificially activated by a flash of light.

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