Behavioral and brain responses to verbal stimuli reveal transient periods of cognitive integration of the external world during sleep.

ABSTRACT: Sleep has long been considered as a state of behavioral disconnection from the environment, without reactivity to external stimuli. Here we questioned this 'sleep disconnection' dogma by directly investigating behavioral responsiveness in 49 napping participants (27 with narcolepsy and 22 healthy volunteers) engaged in a lexical decision task. Participants were instructed to frown or smile depending on the stimulus type. We found accurate behavioral responses, visible via contractions of the corrugator or zygomatic muscles, in most sleep stages in both groups (except slow-wave sleep in healthy volunteers). Across sleep stages, responses occurred more frequently when stimuli were presented during high cognitive states than during low cognitive states, as indexed by prestimulus electroenceph

SUBMITTER: Turker B 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10620087 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature