slow-waves-sleep

What’s going on in the brain while we sleep? A lot! Specif­i­cal­ly, process­es sup­port­ing the con­sol­i­da­tion of mem­o­ries. This Dana Foun­da­tion arti­cle reviews fas­ci­nat­ing stud­ies in which mem­o­ries are reac­ti­vat­ed dur­ing sleep thanks to either an odor or an audi­to­ry cue. Results sug­gest that such reac­ti­va­tion leads to bet­ter memory:

reac­ti­va­tion dur­ing slow-wave sleep sup­ports the trans­fer of the mem­o­ry rep­re­sen­ta­tion from the hip­pocam­pus to long-term stor­age in the neo­cor­tex, and also strength­ens it

one pos­si­ble appli­ca­tion of such find­ings could be to over­write unwant­ed trau­mat­ic memories

anoth­er appli­ca­tion would be to use the deep-sleep reac­ti­va­tion to enhance mem­o­ries in stu­dents, or in elder­ly peo­ple [Read more…] about Sleep: A Mem­o­ry Booster?