Topic: naturalistic design

Children are able to form episodic memories from an early age, which are consolidated during sleep. However, the emergence of the ability to form more abstract, semantic memories and the role of sleep in this process remain uncertain. In the present study, we investigated how sleep influences the formation of abstract spatial context representations in toddlers aged 2-3 years. Utilizing a within-subject naturalistic design, participants (N = 35) were familiarized with two different spatial contexts. After familiarization, the toddlers either took a nap (approximately 90 minutes) or stayed awak