Unit activity in the cat visual cortex in the sleep--waking cycle

Changes in spontaneous unit activity in the primary visual cortex during the sleep-waking cycle were studied in chronic experiments on dark-adapted cats. In the cell poulation studied activity in states of wakefulness and of paradoxical sleep did not differ significantly either in mean discharge frequency or in pattern. Activity of most cells in a state of slow sleep differed significantly from that in states of wakefulness and paradoxical sleep by the development of a "burst-pause" pattern in the unit discharges.