Abstract
It was frequently suggested by previous research that sleep plays a crucial role in the cognitive development of young animals, including humans. The exact mechanisms by which sleep interacts during healthy brain maturation are yet to be discovered. During this study, our lab had been developing and refining an experimental design, which would provide tools to explore that question extensively. We have successfully refined a device, which allows the recording of both ECoG (electrocorticogram), EMG (electromyogram) and LFP signals (with intracerebral tetrodes) of rodents (rats) of varying ages. Furthermore, the design includes the refinement of data acquisition as well as the development of an analytical tool, which will provide the automatized scoring and oscillation analysis of sleep recordings. I have successfully obtained preliminary data from these experiments, which would be of reference for further experiments. In my opinion, this tool will allow scientists to analyse and compare great amounts of data and explore sleep more extensively.