Intrinsic maturation of sleep output neurons regulates sleep ontogeny in Drosophila.

The maturation of sleep behavior across a lifespan (sleep ontogeny) is an evolutionarily conserved phenomenon. Mammalian studies have shown that in addition to increased sleep duration, early life sleep exhibits stark differences compared with mature sleep with regard to sleep states. How the intrinsic maturation of sleep output circuits contributes to sleep ontogeny is poorly understood.