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The developing brain revealed during sleep
Journal article

The developing brain revealed during sleep

Mark S Blumberg, James C Dooley and Greta Sokoloff
Current opinion in physiology, Vol.15, pp.14-22
06/2020
DOI: 10.1016/j.cophys.2019.11.002
PMCID: PMC7450535
PMID: 32864534
url
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/7450535View
Open Access

Abstract

Given the prevalence of sleep in early development, any satisfactory account of infant brain activity must consider what happens during sleep. Only recently, however, has it become possible to record sleep-related brain activity in newborn rodents. Using such methods in rat pups, it is now clear that sleep, more so than wake, provides a crucial context for the processing of sensory input and the expression of functional connectivity throughout the sensorimotor system. In addition, sleep uniquely reveals functional activity in the developing primary motor cortex, which establishes a somatosensory map long before its role in motor control emerges. These findings will inform our understanding of the developmental processes that contribute to the nascent sense of embodiment in human infants.

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