| Abstract: | Predictions from two theories which attempt to explain the function of active sleep (AS) were tested on 144 rats. Total sleep deprived, activity control, stationary control, active steep deprived, large pedestal control, or homecage control conditions were imposed on 30-day and 90-day-old subjects for 5 days. Open-field (OF) and startle response measures and adrenal and body weights permitted examination of changes in emotionality. Increases in OF activity and decreases in defecation in this paradigm are attributed primarily to AS deprivation, while reductions in quiet sleep may account for elevated startle responsivity in totally deprived subjects. Limited support for the Ontogenetic hypothesis is found in the treatment by age effect for OF activity, but the P-hypothesis prediction of increased emotionality in AS deprived subjects is contradicted by our data. |
