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Solomonova E, Dubé S, Blanchette-Carrière C, Sandra DA, Samson-Richer A, Carr M, Paquette T, Nielsen T. Different Patterns of Sleep-Dependent Procedural Memory Consolidation in Vipassana Meditation Practitioners and Non-meditating Controls. Front Psychol 2020; 10:3014. [PMID: 32038390 PMCID: PMC6989470 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.03014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/02/2019] [Accepted: 12/19/2019] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Aim Rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep, and sleep spindles are all implicated in the consolidation of procedural memories. Relative contributions of sleep stages and sleep spindles were previously shown to depend on individual differences in task processing. However, no studies to our knowledge have focused on individual differences in experience with Vipassana meditation as related to sleep. Vipassana meditation is a form of mental training that enhances proprioceptive and somatic awareness and alters attentional style. The goal of this study was to examine a potential role for Vipassana meditation experience in sleep-dependent procedural memory consolidation. Methods Groups of Vipassana meditation practitioners (N = 22) and matched meditation-naïve controls (N = 20) slept for a daytime nap in the laboratory. Before and after the nap they completed a procedural task on the Wii Fit balance platform. Results Meditators performed slightly better on the task before the nap, but the two groups improved similarly after sleep. The groups showed different patterns of sleep-dependent procedural memory consolidation: in meditators, task learning was positively correlated with density of slow occipital spindles, while in controls task improvement was positively associated with time in REM sleep. Sleep efficiency and sleep architecture did not differ between groups. Meditation practitioners, however, had a lower density of occipital slow sleep spindles than controls. Conclusion Results suggest that neuroplastic changes associated with meditation practice may alter overall sleep microarchitecture and reorganize sleep-dependent patterns of memory consolidation. The lower density of occipital spindles in meditators may mean that meditation practice compensates for some of the memory functions of sleep.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elizaveta Solomonova
- Dream and Nightmare Laboratory, Centre for Advanced Research in Sleep Medicine, CIUSSS NÎM - HSCM, Montréal, QC, Canada.,Department of Psychiatry, Université de Montréal, Montréal, QC, Canada.,Culture, Mind and Brain Research Group, Department of Psychiatry, McGill University, Montréal, QC, Canada
| | - Simon Dubé
- Dream and Nightmare Laboratory, Centre for Advanced Research in Sleep Medicine, CIUSSS NÎM - HSCM, Montréal, QC, Canada.,Department of Psychology, Concordia University, Montréal, QC, Canada
| | - Cloé Blanchette-Carrière
- Dream and Nightmare Laboratory, Centre for Advanced Research in Sleep Medicine, CIUSSS NÎM - HSCM, Montréal, QC, Canada
| | - Dasha A Sandra
- Integrated Program in Neuroscience, McGill University, Montréal, QC, Canada
| | - Arnaud Samson-Richer
- Dream and Nightmare Laboratory, Centre for Advanced Research in Sleep Medicine, CIUSSS NÎM - HSCM, Montréal, QC, Canada
| | - Michelle Carr
- Dream and Nightmare Laboratory, Centre for Advanced Research in Sleep Medicine, CIUSSS NÎM - HSCM, Montréal, QC, Canada.,Sleep Laboratory, Swansea University, Swansea, United Kingdom
| | - Tyna Paquette
- Dream and Nightmare Laboratory, Centre for Advanced Research in Sleep Medicine, CIUSSS NÎM - HSCM, Montréal, QC, Canada
| | - Tore Nielsen
- Dream and Nightmare Laboratory, Centre for Advanced Research in Sleep Medicine, CIUSSS NÎM - HSCM, Montréal, QC, Canada.,Department of Psychiatry, Université de Montréal, Montréal, QC, Canada
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