Sleep, plasticity, and sensory neurodevelopment.

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Developmental Biology
• Sleep Science

Background:

• Early infancy is characterized by high neural plasticity and significant sleep.
• Activity-dependent development integrates the brain with the body.
• The role of sleep in this developmental process is not fully understood.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present three conceptual frameworks for understanding activity-dependent development.
• To highlight how these frameworks incorporate or exclude the role of sleep.
• To propose a preferred framework that integrates sleep's modulatory effects.

Main Methods:

• Conceptual analysis of existing frameworks.
• Review of literature on sensory and sensorimotor system development.
• Synthesis of evidence linking sleep to neurodevelopment.

Main Results:

• Framework 1: Retinal waves in the visual system occur independently of sleep-wake states.
• Framework 2: Sleep-specific movements provide sensory feedback for sensorimotor development.
• Framework 3: A comprehensive model where sleep broadly modulates activity-dependent development.

Conclusions:

• A new, integrated framework is proposed for understanding sleep's role in neurodevelopment.
• This framework encompasses existing models and highlights diverse modulatory effects of sleep.
• Adoption of this framework can advance understanding of typical and atypical neurodevelopment.