Biologists from the University of Birmingham have recorded how gorillas try to turn their heads. The results of the research were published at: magazine Primates.
According to the authors, this discovery will help to understand the role of altered mental states in human evolution.
“Turning alters the state of consciousness, disrupts the reactions and coordination of the body and mind, which causes nausea, dizziness and even moodiness, as in children playing on the playground. If all great apes are striving to achieve this state, it is likely that our common ancestors did the same,” the authors stressed.
The research team analyzed more than 40 videos of gorillas and other apes deliberately spinning on their axis. The scientists found that, on average, primates do about 5.5 cycles per spin segment, at an average speed of 1.5 cycles per second. The monkeys did this an average of three times. Some of them sped up, whirling, holding on to a rope or a vine.
The scientists conducted a series of experiments that found the monkeys visibly dizzy for the third time, after which they lost their balance and fell. The team notes that more research is needed to determine the motivations of primates and our common ancestors.