1
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Berger S, Batterink LJ. Children extract a new linguistic rule more quickly than adults. Dev Sci 2024:e13498. [PMID: 38517035 DOI: 10.1111/desc.13498] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/13/2023] [Revised: 12/19/2023] [Accepted: 02/26/2024] [Indexed: 03/23/2024]
Abstract
Children achieve better long-term language outcomes than adults. However, it remains unclear whether children actually learn language more quickly than adults during real-time exposure to input-indicative of true superior language learning abilities-or whether this advantage stems from other factors. To examine this issue, we compared the rate at which children (8-10 years) and adults extracted a novel, hidden linguistic rule, in which novel articles probabilistically predicted the animacy of associated nouns (e.g., "gi lion"). Participants categorized these two-word phrases according to a second, explicitly instructed rule over two sessions, separated by an overnight delay. Both children and adults successfully learned the hidden animacy rule through mere exposure to the phrases, showing slower response times and decreased accuracy to occasional phrases that violated the rule. Critically, sensitivity to the hidden rule emerged much more quickly in children than adults; children showed a processing cost for violation trials from very early on in learning, whereas adults did not show reliable sensitivity to the rule until the second session. Children also showed superior generalization of the hidden animacy rule when asked to classify nonword trials (e.g., "gi badupi") according to the hidden animacy rule. Children and adults showed similar retention of the hidden rule over the delay period. These results provide insight into the nature of the critical period for language, suggesting that children have a true advantage over adults in the rate of implicit language learning. Relative to adults, children more rapidly extract hidden linguistic structures during real-time language exposure. RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS: Children and adults both succeeded in implicitly learning a novel, uninstructed linguistic rule, based solely on exposure to input. Children learned the novel linguistic rules much more quickly than adults. Children showed better generalization performance than adults when asked to apply the novel rule to nonsense words without semantic content. Results provide insight into the nature of critical period effects in language, indicating that children have an advantage over adults in real-time language learning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah Berger
- Department of Psychology, University of Western Ontario, London, Canada
| | - Laura J Batterink
- Department of Psychology, University of Western Ontario, London, Canada
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2
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Hanert A, Schönfeld R, Weber FD, Nowak A, Döhring J, Philippen S, Granert O, Burgalossi A, Born J, Berg D, Göder R, Häussermann P, Bartsch T. Reduced overnight memory consolidation and associated alterations in sleep spindles and slow oscillations in early Alzheimer's disease. Neurobiol Dis 2024; 190:106378. [PMID: 38103701 DOI: 10.1016/j.nbd.2023.106378] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2023] [Revised: 12/11/2023] [Accepted: 12/11/2023] [Indexed: 12/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Spatial navigation critically underlies hippocampal-entorhinal circuit function that is early affected in Alzheimer's disease (AD). There is growing evidence that AD pathophysiology dynamically interacts with the sleep/wake cycle impairing hippocampal memory. To elucidate sleep-dependent consolidation in a cohort of symptomatic AD patients (n = 12, 71.25 ± 2.16 years), we tested hippocampal place learning by means of a virtual reality task and verbal memory by a word-pair association task before and after a night of sleep. Our results show an impaired overnight memory retention in AD compared with controls in the verbal task, together with a significant reduction of sleep spindle activity (i.e., lower amplitude of fast sleep spindles, p = 0.016) and increased duration of the slow oscillation (SO; p = 0.019). Higher spindle density, faster down-to-upstate transitions within SOs, and the time delay between SOs and nested spindles predicted better memory performance in healthy controls but not in AD patients. Our results show that mnemonic processing and memory consolidation in AD is slightly impaired as reflected by dysfunctional oscillatory dynamics and spindle-SO coupling during NonREM sleep. In this translational study based on experimental paradigms in animals and extending previous work in healthy aging and preclinical disease stages, our results in symptomatic AD further deepen the understanding of the memory decline within a bidirectional relationship of sleep and AD pathology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Annika Hanert
- Department of Neurology, Memory Disorders and Plasticity Group, University Hospital of Schleswig Holstein, 24105 Kiel, Germany
| | - Robby Schönfeld
- Institute of Psychology, Division of Clinical Psychology, Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg, 06099 Halle (Saale), Germany
| | - Frederik D Weber
- Institute for Medical Psychology and Behavioral Neurobiology, University of Tübingen, 72074 Tübingen, Germany; Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition, and Behaviour, Radboud University Medical Centre, 6525 EN Nijmegen, the Netherlands; Department of Sleep and Cognition, Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, 1105 BA Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Alexander Nowak
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Sleep Laboratory, University Hospital of Schleswig Holstein, 24105 Kiel, Germany
| | - Juliane Döhring
- Department of Neurology, Memory Disorders and Plasticity Group, University Hospital of Schleswig Holstein, 24105 Kiel, Germany; Institute for General Medicine, University Hospital of Schleswig-Holstein, 24105 Kiel, Germany
| | - Sarah Philippen
- Department of Neurology, Memory Disorders and Plasticity Group, University Hospital of Schleswig Holstein, 24105 Kiel, Germany
| | - Oliver Granert
- Department of Neurology, Memory Disorders and Plasticity Group, University Hospital of Schleswig Holstein, 24105 Kiel, Germany
| | - Andrea Burgalossi
- Institute of Neurobiology, Werner-Reichardt Center for Integrative Neuroscience, University of Tübingen, 72074 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Jan Born
- Institute for Medical Psychology and Behavioral Neurobiology, University of Tübingen, 72074 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Daniela Berg
- Department of Neurology, Memory Disorders and Plasticity Group, University Hospital of Schleswig Holstein, 24105 Kiel, Germany
| | - Robert Göder
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Sleep Laboratory, University Hospital of Schleswig Holstein, 24105 Kiel, Germany
| | - Peter Häussermann
- Department of Geriatric Psychiatry, LVR Klinik Köln, Academic Teaching Hospital, University of Cologne, Köln, Germany
| | - Thorsten Bartsch
- Department of Neurology, Memory Disorders and Plasticity Group, University Hospital of Schleswig Holstein, 24105 Kiel, Germany.
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3
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Brodt S, Inostroza M, Niethard N, Born J. Sleep-A brain-state serving systems memory consolidation. Neuron 2023; 111:1050-1075. [PMID: 37023710 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2023.03.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 49] [Impact Index Per Article: 49.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/12/2023] [Revised: 02/23/2023] [Accepted: 03/06/2023] [Indexed: 04/08/2023]
Abstract
Although long-term memory consolidation is supported by sleep, it is unclear how it differs from that during wakefulness. Our review, focusing on recent advances in the field, identifies the repeated replay of neuronal firing patterns as a basic mechanism triggering consolidation during sleep and wakefulness. During sleep, memory replay occurs during slow-wave sleep (SWS) in hippocampal assemblies together with ripples, thalamic spindles, neocortical slow oscillations, and noradrenergic activity. Here, hippocampal replay likely favors the transformation of hippocampus-dependent episodic memory into schema-like neocortical memory. REM sleep following SWS might balance local synaptic rescaling accompanying memory transformation with a sleep-dependent homeostatic process of global synaptic renormalization. Sleep-dependent memory transformation is intensified during early development despite the immaturity of the hippocampus. Overall, beyond its greater efficacy, sleep consolidation differs from wake consolidation mainly in that it is supported, rather than impaired, by spontaneous hippocampal replay activity possibly gating memory formation in neocortex.
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Affiliation(s)
- Svenja Brodt
- Institute of Medical Psychology and Behavioral Neurobiology, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany; Max-Planck-Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Marion Inostroza
- Institute of Medical Psychology and Behavioral Neurobiology, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Niels Niethard
- Institute of Medical Psychology and Behavioral Neurobiology, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Jan Born
- Institute of Medical Psychology and Behavioral Neurobiology, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany; Werner Reichert Center for Integrative Neuroscience, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.
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4
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Distinct multivariate structural brain profiles are related to variations in short- and long-delay memory consolidation across children and young adults. Dev Cogn Neurosci 2022; 59:101192. [PMID: 36566622 PMCID: PMC9803921 DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2022.101192] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/06/2022] [Revised: 12/12/2022] [Accepted: 12/21/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
From early to middle childhood, brain regions that underlie memory consolidation undergo profound maturational changes. However, there is little empirical investigation that directly relates age-related differences in brain structural measures to memory consolidation processes. The present study examined memory consolidation of intentionally studied object-location associations after one night of sleep (short delay) and after two weeks (long delay) in normally developing 5-to-7-year-old children (n = 50) and young adults (n = 39). Behavioural differences in memory retention rate were related to structural brain measures. Our results showed that children, in comparison to young adults, retained correctly learnt object-location associations less robustly over short and long delay. Moreover, using partial least squares correlation method, a unique multivariate profile comprised of specific neocortical (prefrontal, parietal, and occipital), cerebellar, and hippocampal head and subfield structures in the body was found to be associated with variation in short-delay memory retention. A different multivariate profile comprised of a reduced set of brain structures, mainly consisting of neocortical (prefrontal, parietal, and occipital), hippocampal head, and selective hippocampal subfield structures (CA1-2 and subiculum) was associated with variation in long-delay memory retention. Taken together, the results suggest that multivariate structural pattern of unique sets of brain regions are related to variations in short- and long-delay memory consolidation across children and young adults.
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5
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Bovy L, Weber FD, Tendolkar I, Fernández G, Czisch M, Steiger A, Zeising M, Dresler M. Non-REM sleep in major depressive disorder. Neuroimage Clin 2022; 36:103275. [PMID: 36451376 PMCID: PMC9723407 DOI: 10.1016/j.nicl.2022.103275] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/05/2021] [Revised: 11/07/2022] [Accepted: 11/21/2022] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Disturbed sleep is a key symptom in major depressive disorder (MDD). REM sleep alterations are well described in the current literature, but little is known about non-REM sleep alterations. Additionally, sleep disturbances relate to a variety of cognitive symptoms in MDD, but which features of non-REM sleep EEG contribute to this, remains unknown. We comprehensively analyzed non-REM sleep EEG features in two central channels in three independently collected datasets (N = 284 recordings of 216 participants). This exploratory and descriptive study included MDD patients with a broad age range, varying duration and severity of depression, unmedicated or medicated, age- and gender-matched to healthy controls. We explored changes in sleep architecture including sleep stages and cycles, spectral power, sleep spindles, slow waves (SW), and SW-spindle coupling. Next, we analyzed the association of these sleep features with acute measures of depression severity and overnight consolidation of procedural memory. Overall, no major systematic alterations in non-REM sleep architecture were found in patients compared to controls. For the microstructure of non-REM sleep, we observed a higher spindle amplitude in unmedicated patients compared to controls, and after the start of antidepressant medication longer SWs with lower amplitude and a more dispersed SW-spindle coupling. In addition, long-term, but not short-term medication seemed to lower spindle density. Overnight procedural memory consolidation was impaired in medicated patients and associated with lower sleep spindle density. Our results suggest that alterations of non-REM sleep EEG in MDD might be more subtle than previously reported. We discuss these findings in the context of antidepressant medication intake and age.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leonore Bovy
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Medical Center
| | - Frederik D. Weber
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Medical Center,Corresponding author.
| | - Indira Tendolkar
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Medical Center
| | - Guillén Fernández
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Medical Center
| | | | - Axel Steiger
- Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, Munich, Germany
| | - Marcel Zeising
- Klinikum Ingolstadt, Centre of Mental Health, Ingolstadt, Germany
| | - Martin Dresler
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Medical Center
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6
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Hoedlmoser K, Peigneux P, Rauchs G. Recent advances in memory consolidation and information processing during sleep. J Sleep Res 2022; 31:e13607. [DOI: 10.1111/jsr.13607] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2022] [Revised: 03/25/2022] [Accepted: 03/25/2022] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Kerstin Hoedlmoser
- Department of Psychology, Centre for Cognitive Neuroscience (CCNS), Laboratory for “Sleep, Cognition and Consciousness Research” University of Salzburg Salzburg Austria
| | - Philippe Peigneux
- UR2NF – Neuropsychology and Functional Neuroimaging Research Unit affiliated at CRCN – Centre for Research in Cognition and Neurosciences and UNI – ULB Neuroscience Institute Bruxelles Belgium
| | - Géraldine Rauchs
- UNICAEN, INSERM, U1237, PhIND “Physiopathology and Imaging of Neurological Disorders”, Institut Blood and Brain @ Caen‐Normandie Normandie Univ Caen France
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7
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Luongo A, Lukowski A, Protho T, Van Vorce H, Pisani L, Edgin J. Sleep's role in memory consolidation: What can we learn from atypical development? ADVANCES IN CHILD DEVELOPMENT AND BEHAVIOR 2021; 60:229-260. [PMID: 33641795 DOI: 10.1016/bs.acdb.2020.08.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
Research conducted over the last century has suggested a role for sleep in the processes guiding healthy cognition and development, including memory consolidation. Children with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDDs) tend to have higher rates of sleep disturbances, which could relate to behavior issues, developmental delays, and learning difficulties. While several studies examine whether sleep exacerbates daytime difficulties and attention deficits in children with IDDs, this chapter focuses on the current state of knowledge regarding sleep and memory consolidation in typically developing (TD) groups and those at risk for learning difficulties. In particular, this chapter summarizes the current literature on sleep-dependent learning across developmental disabilities, including Down syndrome, Williams syndrome, Autism Spectrum Disorder, and Learning Disabilities (Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder and Dyslexia). We also highlight the gaps in the current literature and identify challenges in studying sleep-dependent memory in children with different IDDs. This burgeoning new field highlights the importance of considering the role of sleep in memory retention across long delays when evaluating children's memory processes. Further, an understanding of typical and atypical development can mutually inform recent theories of sleep's role in memory.
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Affiliation(s)
- A Luongo
- Department of Psychology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, Unites States
| | - A Lukowski
- Department of Psychological Sciences, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States
| | - T Protho
- Department of Psychology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, Unites States
| | - H Van Vorce
- Department of Psychology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, Unites States
| | - L Pisani
- Department of Psychology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, Unites States
| | - J Edgin
- Department of Psychology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, Unites States; University of Arizona Sonoran UCEDD, Tucson, AZ, United States.
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8
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Spanò G, Weber FD, Pizzamiglio G, McCormick C, Miller TD, Rosenthal CR, Edgin JO, Maguire EA. Sleeping with Hippocampal Damage. Curr Biol 2020; 30:523-529.e3. [PMID: 31956024 PMCID: PMC6997880 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2019.11.072] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/15/2019] [Revised: 10/16/2019] [Accepted: 11/25/2019] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
The hippocampus plays a critical role in sleep-related memory processes [1-3], but it is unclear which specific sleep features are dependent upon this brain structure. The examination of sleep physiology in patients with focal bilateral hippocampal damage and amnesia could supply important evidence regarding these links. However, there is a dearth of such studies, despite these patients providing compelling insights into awake cognition [4, 5]. Here, we sought to identify the contribution of the hippocampus to the sleep phenotype by characterizing sleep via comprehensive qualitative and quantitative analyses in memory-impaired patients with selective bilateral hippocampal damage and matched control participants using in-home polysomnography on 4 nights. We found that, compared to control participants, patients had significantly reduced slow-wave sleep-likely due to decreased density of slow waves-as well as slow-wave activity. In contrast, slow and fast spindles were indistinguishable from those of control participants. Moreover, patients expressed slow oscillations (SOs), and SO-fast spindle coupling was observed. However, on closer scrutiny, we noted that the timing of spindles within the SO cycle was delayed in the patients. The shift of patients' spindles into the later phase of the up-state within the SO cycle may indicate a mismatch in timing across the SO-spindle-ripple events that are associated with memory consolidation [6, 7]. The substantial effect of selective bilateral hippocampal damage on large-scale oscillatory activity in the cortex suggests that, as with awake cognition, the hippocampus plays a significant role in sleep physiology, which may, in turn, be necessary for efficacious episodic memory.
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Affiliation(s)
- Goffredina Spanò
- Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London WC1N 3AR, UK
| | - Frederik D Weber
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Medical Centre, Nijmegen 6525 EN, the Netherlands
| | - Gloria Pizzamiglio
- Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London WC1N 3AR, UK
| | - Cornelia McCormick
- Department of Neurodegenerative Diseases and Geriatric Psychiatry, University Hospital Bonn, Bonn 53127, Germany
| | - Thomas D Miller
- Department of Neurology, Royal Free Hospital, London NW3 2QG, UK
| | - Clive R Rosenthal
- Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 9DU, UK
| | - Jamie O Edgin
- Department of Psychology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA
| | - Eleanor A Maguire
- Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London WC1N 3AR, UK.
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Allard T, Riggins T, Ewell A, Weinberg B, Lokhandwala S, Spencer RMC. Measuring Neural Mechanisms Underlying Sleep-Dependent Memory Consolidation During Naps in Early Childhood. J Vis Exp 2019. [PMID: 31633692 DOI: 10.3791/60200] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Sleep is critical for daily functioning. One important function of sleep is the consolidation of memories, a process that makes them stronger and less vulnerable to interference. The neural mechanisms underlying the benefit of sleep for memory can be investigated using polysomnography (PSG). PSG is a combination of physiological recordings including signals from the brain (EEG), eyes (EOG), and muscles (EMG) that are used to classify sleep stages. In this protocol, we describe how PSG can be used in conjunction with behavioral memory assessments, actigraphy, and parent-report to examine sleep-dependent memory consolidation. The focus of this protocol is on early childhood, a period of significance as children transition from biphasic sleep (consisting of a nap and overnight sleep) to monophasic sleep (overnight sleep only). The effects of sleep on memory performance are measured using a visuospatial memory assessment across periods of sleep and wakeful-rest. A combination of actigraphy and parent report is used to assess sleep rhythms (i.e., characterizing children as habitual or non-habitual nappers). Finally, PSG is used to characterize sleep stages and qualities of those stages (such as frequencies and the presence of spindles) during naps. The advantage of using PSG is that it is the only tool currently available to assess sleep quality and sleep architecture, pointing to the relevant brain state that supports memory consolidation. The main limitations of PSG are the length of time it takes to prepare the recording montage and that recordings are typically taken over one sleep bought. These limitations can be overcome by engaging young participants in distracting tasks during application and combining PSG with actigraphy and self/parent-report measures to characterize sleep cycles. Together, this unique combination of methods allows for investigations into how naps support learning in preschool children.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | - Sanna Lokhandwala
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Massachusetts
| | - Rebecca M C Spencer
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Massachusetts; Neuroscience and Behavior, University of Massachusetts
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10
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Variable training but not sleep improves consolidation of motor adaptation. Sci Rep 2018; 8:15977. [PMID: 30374027 PMCID: PMC6206141 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-34225-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/09/2018] [Accepted: 10/12/2018] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
How motor memory consolidates still remains elusive. Consolidation of motor skills has been shown to depend on periods of sleep. Conversely, motor adaptation during tasks not dependent on the hippocampus may not depend on sleep. Some research suggests that the training schedule affects the sleep dependency of motor adaptation tasks. Here, we investigated whether sleep differentially affects memory consolidation that depends on the training schedule. Healthy men were trained with their dominant, right hand on a force-field adaptation task and re-tested after an 11-h consolidation period involving overnight sleep (Sleep) or daytime wakefulness (Wake). Retesting included a transfer test of the non-dominant hand. Half of the subjects in each group adapted to different force-field magnitudes during training with low inter-trial force variability (Sleep-Blocked; Wake-Blocked), and the other half were trained with a high-variability schedule (Sleep-Random; Wake-Random). EEG was recorded during task execution and overnight polysomnography. Consolidation was comparable between Wake and Sleep groups, although performance changes over sleep correlated with sleep spindles nesting in slow-wave upstates. Higher training variability improved retest performance, including transfer learning, and these improvements correlated with higher alpha power in contralateral parietal areas. These enhanced consolidation effects might be fostered by feedback rather than feedforward mechanisms.
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11
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Sakhon S, Edwards K, Luongo A, Murphy M, Edgin J. Small Sets of Novel Words Are Fully Retained After 1-Week in Typically Developing Children and Down Syndrome: A Fast Mapping Study. J Int Neuropsychol Soc 2018; 24:955-965. [PMID: 30375315 PMCID: PMC6211816 DOI: 10.1017/s1355617718000450] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Down syndrome (DS) is a population with known hippocampal impairment, with studies showing that individuals with DS display difficulties in spatial navigation and remembering arbitrary bindings. Recent research has also demonstrated the importance of the hippocampus for novel word-learning. Based on these data, we aimed to determine whether individuals with DS show deficits in learning new labels and if they may benefit from encoding conditions thought to be less reliant on hippocampal function (i.e., through fast mapping). METHODS In the current study, we examined immediate, 5-min, and 1-week delayed word-learning across two learning conditions (e.g., explicit encoding vs. fast mapping). These conditions were examined across groups (twenty-six 3- to 5-year-old typically developing children and twenty-six 11- to 28-year-old individuals with DS with comparable verbal and nonverbal scores on the Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test - second edition) and in reference to sleep quality. RESULTS Both individuals with and without DS showed retention after a 1-week delay, and the current study found no benefit of the fast mapping condition in either group contrary to our expectations. Eye tracking data showed that preferential eye movements to target words were not present immediately but emerged after 1-week in both groups. Furthermore, sleep measures collected via actigraphy did not relate to retention in either group. CONCLUSIONS This study presents novel data on long-term knowledge retention in reference to sleep patterns in DS and adds to a body of knowledge helping us to understand the processes of word-learning in typical and atypically developing populations. (JINS, 2018, 24, 955-965).
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Affiliation(s)
- Stella Sakhon
- Department of Psychology, University of Arizona, Tucson,
Arizona
| | - Kelly Edwards
- Department of Psychology, University of Arizona, Tucson,
Arizona
| | - Alison Luongo
- Department of Psychology, University of Arizona, Tucson,
Arizona
| | - Melanie Murphy
- Department of Psychology, University of Arizona, Tucson,
Arizona
| | - Jamie Edgin
- Department of Psychology, University of Arizona, Tucson,
Arizona
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12
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Wang JY, Weber FD, Zinke K, Noack H, Born J. Effects of Sleep on Word Pair Memory in Children - Separating Item and Source Memory Aspects. Front Psychol 2017; 8:1533. [PMID: 28943858 PMCID: PMC5594220 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01533] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/13/2017] [Accepted: 08/24/2017] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Word paired-associate learning is a well-established task to demonstrate sleep-dependent memory consolidation in adults as well as children. Sleep has also been proposed to benefit episodic features of memory, i.e., a memory for an event (item) bound into the spatiotemporal context it has been experienced in (source). We aimed to explore if sleep enhances word pair memory in children by strengthening the episodic features of the memory, in particular. Sixty-one children (8-12 years) studied two lists of word pairs with 1 h in between. Retrieval testing comprised cued recall of the target word of each word pair (item memory) and recalling in which list the word pair had appeared in (source memory). Retrieval was tested either after 1 h (short retention interval) or after 11 h, with this long retention interval covering either nocturnal sleep or daytime wakefulness. Compared with the wake interval, sleep enhanced separate recall of both word pairs and the lists per se, while recall of the combination of the word pair and the list it had appeared in remained unaffected by sleep. An additional comparison with adult controls (n = 37) suggested that item-source bound memory (combined recall of word pair and list) is generally diminished in children. Our results argue against the view that the sleep-induced enhancement in paired-associate learning in children is a consequence of sleep specifically enhancing the episodic features of the memory representation. On the contrary, sleep in children might strengthen item and source representations in isolation, while leaving the episodic memory representations (item-source binding) unaffected.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jing-Yi Wang
- Institute of Medical Psychology and Behavioral Neurobiology, University of TübingenTübingen, Germany
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal UniversityBeijing, China
- Graduate School of Neural and Behavioral Sciences, University of TübingenTübingen, Germany
| | - Frederik D. Weber
- Institute of Medical Psychology and Behavioral Neurobiology, University of TübingenTübingen, Germany
| | - Katharina Zinke
- Institute of Medical Psychology and Behavioral Neurobiology, University of TübingenTübingen, Germany
| | - Hannes Noack
- Institute of Medical Psychology and Behavioral Neurobiology, University of TübingenTübingen, Germany
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of TübingenTübingen, Germany
| | - Jan Born
- Institute of Medical Psychology and Behavioral Neurobiology, University of TübingenTübingen, Germany
- Werner Reichardt Center for Integrative Neuroscience, University of TübingenTübingen, Germany
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