Abstract
Polygraphic manifestations of waking and sleep were studied in six Eastern moles ( Scalopus aquaticus) and one star-nosed mole ( Condylura cristata). Recordings were made, over periods of 24 or 72 hr, from electrodes chronically implanted in neocortex, hippocampus, neck muscles, and chest wall. Small thermistor beads recorded brain temperature. Five EEG states were distinguished; waking, drowsy, spindle sleep, slow wave sleep, and paradoxical sleep (PS). Sleep accounted for 35.2% of total recording time; PS occupied 25.0% of total sleep time. During sleep PS recurred at an interval of 10.4 min. With a few exceptions possibly related to the mole's underground life, the physiological characteristics of both phases of sleep are typically mammalian. The PS was characterized by neocortical desynchronization, prominent hippocampal theta activity, irregular respiration, brain temperature increase, and myoclonic jerking on a background of neck muscle atonia. The normal appearance and large amounts of PS in this blind or nearly-blind mammal suggest there is no fundamental relationship between PS and visual system functioning.
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