Investigations of fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster) show that they engage in both deep sleep and ‘active sleep’, in which their brain activity is the same a

Investigations of fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster) show that they engage in both deep sleep and ‘active sleep’, in which their brain activity is the same as when they’re awake[6]. “This is perhaps similar to what we call rapid eye movement sleep in humans, which is when we have our most vivid dreams, which we interpret as conscious experiences,” says Bruno van Swinderen, a biologist at the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia, who studies[7] fruit flies’ behaviour and who also signed the declaration. Some suggest that dreams are key components of being conscious, he notes. If flies and other invertebrates have active sleep, "then maybe this is as good a clue as any that they are perhaps conscious". [6] Anthoney, N. et al eLife 12, RP88198 (2023) [7] https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-00709-7 https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-00709-7