Difficulty in artificial word learning impacts targeted memory reactivation and its underlying neural signatures.

ABSTRACT: Sleep associated memory consolidation and reactivation play an important role in language acquisition and learning of new words. However, it is unclear to what extent properties of word learning difficulty impact sleep associated memory reactivation. To address this gap, we investigated in 22 young healthy adults the effectiveness of auditory targeted memory reactivation (TMR) during non-rapid eye movement sleep of artificial words with easy and difficult to learn phonotactical properties. Here, we found that TMR of the easy words improved their overnight memory performance, whereas TMR of the difficult words had no effect. By comparing EEG activities after TMR presentations, we found an increase in slow wave density independent of word difficulty, whereas the spindle-band power nested dur

SUBMITTER: Klaassen AL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11534334 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature