Finally, Niels Rattenborg from the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology in Seewiesen hopes that «this naturally
occurring variation in REM sleep during a period of
brain development can be used to reveal exactly what REM sleep does for the developing
brain in baby owls, as well as
humans.»
Results of
brain research, much of it sponsored by the National Institutes of Child Health and
Human Development (NICHD), suggest that different parts of the
brain working together are responsible for complex cognitive processes and that the communication between these
brain centers is required for successful learning to
occur.