A technique for embryonic implantation and the subsequent recording of electrocortical, neck muscle, and ocular activity continously from the 20th day of incubation through hatching and the first few days thereafter is demonstrated. The embryonic maturation of the EEG, with a characteristic muscle burst pattern heralding hatching was found, supporting previous reports obtained with acute preparations. The technique for injection into the chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) vessels or direct deposition onto the CAM is also described. The usefulness of the embryonic neurophysiological implantation coupled with the injection at specific stages of development is discusses as an approach to the understanding of the parameters of the maturation of the sleep-wakefulness cycle, neurochemistry, and behavior.

The 2-deoxy-D-[¹⁴C]-glucose method for the quantitative determination of local cerebral glucose utilization has been applied to the mouse. The experiments were conducted in awake freely moving animals. Local cerebral glucose utilization was found to vary widely throughout the brain with the lowest values in white matter and the highest in gray matter. The most metabolically active structures were those involved in auditory function or in general motor activity. All the values were lower than those observed previously in the conscious rat. The use of free-moving animals may be of importance since it allows the study of physiological or pathological behavioral states.

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