Blumberg Lab

Every animal must develop functional brain-behavior relations within the context of a growing body. Whereas such investigations typically focus on what happens during wake, we begin instead by noting that sleep predominates in early development. Thus, our research focuses on the development, neural mechanisms, and functions of sleep to understand why animals sleep so much more when they are young and what can go wrong when they don't. We embrace a developmental systems perspective that prioritizes the processes that shape developing animals. To gain a full appreciation for the questions we ask and the conceptual and methodological approaches we take, you may wish to read a review below or an empirical article, watch a research-related video, or read this Q&A.