Quantcast
ZME Science
  • CoronavirusNEW
  • News
  • Environment
    • Climate
    • Animals
    • Renewable Energy
    • Eco tips
    • Environmental Issues
    • Green Living
  • Health
    • Alternative Medicine
    • Anatomy
    • Diseases
    • Genetics
    • Mind & Brain
    • Nutrition
  • Future
  • Space
  • Feature
    • Feature Post
    • Art
    • Great Pics
    • Design
    • Fossil Friday
    • AstroPicture
    • GeoPicture
    • Did you know?
    • Offbeat
  • More
    • About
    • The Team
    • Advertise
    • Contribute
    • Our stance on climate change
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact
No Result
View All Result
ZME Science

No Result
View All Result
ZME Science
No Result
View All Result
Home Health & Medicine Mind & Brain

The brain replays memories as you sleep to make sure you don’t lose them

This is something worth remembering. So, maybe, sleep on it a bit?

Alexandru Micu by Alexandru Micu
October 12, 2018
in Mind & Brain, Neurology, News, Science

The same brain mechanisms that record memory while awake make an appearance during sleep.

Sleeping feet.
Image via Pixabay.

A new study published by Dutch and British researchers reports that being awake and forming memories is just half the story — you also need to sleep and consolidate them. Surprisingly, however, the same brain networks and mechanisms that formed the memory are reactivated during its consolidation.

LearningZzZz…

“Understanding how memories are reactivated in different states also provides insight into how these memories could be altered — which might for example be interesting in therapeutic settings,” says co-lead author Dr. Tobias Staudigl, of the Donders Institute in Holland.

Sleep is very important for the formation of stable, long-lasting memories. Researchers — as well as students during finals — have been aware of this for some time now, but we’ve never really had a good look at how our brains process memories during sleep.

ADVERTISEMENT

Donders’ team set out to record and study these processes using a technique called Targeted Memory Reactivation, which is known to enhance memory. Boiled down, the technique involves playing back previously learned information (in this case words in a foreign language) to a person while they are sleeping.

The researchers used electroencephalography to monitor the brain activity of each participant while they were learning and remembering the foreign vocabulary before sleep. Participants’ brain activity was recorded as they were sleeping, allowing the team to see what brain pathways activated upon them hearing the words.

Get more science news like this...

Join the ZME newsletter for amazing science news, features, and exclusive scoops. More than 40,000 subscribers can't be wrong.

   

Comparing neural signals fired by the brain in each state, the researchers were able to show clear similarities in brain activity.

ADVERTISEMENT

“Although sleep and wakefulness might seem to have little in common, this study shows that brain activity in each of these states might be more similar than we previously thought,” says lead author Dr. Thomas Schreiner, of the University of Birmingham’s School of Psychology.

“The neural activity we recorded provides further evidence for how important sleep is to memory and, ultimately, for our well-being.”

In the future, the team plans to follow up on their research by investigating spontaneous memory activation during sleep.

So, students the world over, science has spoken: pulling an all-nighter to cram up just isn’t a very good way to study. If it’s daytime, glue yourself to the book; at night, that head needs to go on a pillow.

The paper “Theta Phase-Coordinated Memory Reactivation Reoccurs in a Slow-Oscillatory Rhythm during NREM Sleep” has been published in the journal Cell Reports.

Tags: brainmemorysleep
Alexandru Micu

Alexandru Micu

Stunningly charming pun connoisseur, I have been fascinated by the world around me since I first laid eyes on it. Always curious, I'm just having a little fun with some very serious science.

Follow ZME on social media

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
  • Coronavirus
  • News
  • Environment
  • Health
  • Future
  • Space
  • Feature
  • More

© 2007-2019 ZME Science - Not exactly rocket science. All Rights Reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • Coronavirus
  • News
  • Environment
    • Climate
    • Animals
    • Renewable Energy
    • Eco tips
    • Environmental Issues
    • Green Living
  • Health
    • Alternative Medicine
    • Anatomy
    • Diseases
    • Genetics
    • Mind & Brain
    • Nutrition
  • Future
  • Space
  • Feature
    • Feature Post
    • Art
    • Great Pics
    • Design
    • Fossil Friday
    • AstroPicture
    • GeoPicture
    • Did you know?
    • Offbeat
  • More
    • About
    • The Team
    • Advertise
    • Contribute
    • Our stance on climate change
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact

© 2007-2019 ZME Science - Not exactly rocket science. All Rights Reserved.