Vocabulary learning benefits from REM after slow-wave sleep.

ABSTRACT: Memory reactivation during slow-wave sleep (SWS) influences the consolidation of recently acquired knowledge. This reactivation occurs spontaneously during sleep but can also be triggered by presenting learning-related cues, a technique known as targeted memory reactivation (TMR). Here we examined whether TMR can improve vocabulary learning. Participants learned the meanings of 60 novel words. Auditory cues for half the words were subsequently presented during SWS in an afternoon nap. Memory performance for cued versus uncued words did not differ at the group level but was systematically influenced by REM sleep duration. Participants who obtained relatively greater amounts of REM showed a significant benefit for cued relative to uncued words, whereas participants who obtained little or no

SUBMITTER: Batterink LJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5582992 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature