Age-related changes in the sleep pattern of male adult rats

In order to study whether or not the age-related changes in the sleep pattern observed in humans also occur in rats, young adult (4 months) and old (22 months) male Wistar rats were implanted with EEG and EMG electrodes for 24 h on-line registration by means of an automatic sleep-classifier. During the 12 h light period, the old rats as compared to the young adult ones showed a significant increase of the time spent awake and a decrease of active sleep time. Furthermore, the light-dark ratio was decreased in the old rats for wakefulness and active sleep. Off-line analysis of the EEG during quiet sleep and active sleep revealed no differences between the two age groups. These results suggest the existence of a number of considerable age-related changes in the sleep pattern of adult rats, which are comparable to those observed in humans.