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Scientists observed the electrical activity of brains in rats forced to stay up longer than usual. Problem-solving brain regions fell into a kind of "local sleep"â€"a condition likely in sleep-deprived humans too, the study authors say.

Surprisingly, when sections of the rats' brains entered these sleeplike states, "you couldn't tell that [the rats] are in any way in a different state of wakefulness," said study co-author Giulio Tononi, a neuroscientist at the University of Wisconsin, Madison.

Despite these periods of local sleep, overall brain activityâ€"and the rats†behaviorsâ€"suggested the animals were fully awake.

This phenomenon of local sleep is "not just an interesting observation of unknown significance," Tononi said. It "actually affects behaviorâ€"you make a mistake."

For example, when the scientists had the rats perform a challenging taskâ€"using their paws to reach sugar pelletsâ€"the sleep-deprived animals had trouble completing it.