scholarly journals Autonomic activity during sleep predicts memory consolidation in humans

2016 ◽  
Vol 113 (26) ◽  
pp. 7272-7277 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lauren N. Whitehurst ◽  
Nicola Cellini ◽  
Elizabeth A. McDevitt ◽  
Katherine A. Duggan ◽  
Sara C. Mednick
Keyword(s):  
Memory Consolidation ◽  
Memory Performance ◽  
Sleep Stages ◽  
Remote Associates Test ◽  
Daytime Nap ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
With Memory ◽  
Good Sleep ◽  
Variance Explained

Throughout history, psychologists and philosophers have proposed that good sleep benefits memory, yet current studies focusing on the relationship between traditionally reported sleep features (e.g., minutes in sleep stages) and changes in memory performance show contradictory findings. This discrepancy suggests that there are events occurring during sleep that have not yet been considered. The autonomic nervous system (ANS) shows strong variation across sleep stages. Also, increases in ANS activity during waking, as measured by heart rate variability (HRV), have been correlated with memory improvement. However, the role of ANS in sleep-dependent memory consolidation has never been examined. Here, we examined whether changes in cardiac ANS activity (HRV) during a daytime nap were related to performance on two memory conditions (Primed and Repeated) and a nonmemory control condition on the Remote Associates Test. In line with prior studies, we found sleep-dependent improvement in the Primed condition compared with the Quiet Wake control condition. Using regression analyses, we compared the proportion of variance in performance associated with traditionally reported sleep features (model 1) vs. sleep features and HRV during sleep (model 2). For both the Primed and Repeated conditions, model 2 (sleep + HRV) predicted performance significantly better (73% and 58% of variance explained, respectively) compared with model 1 (sleep only, 46% and 26% of variance explained, respectively). These findings present the first evidence, to our knowledge, that ANS activity may be one potential mechanism driving sleep-dependent plasticity.

scholarly journals 0084 Sleep Consolidates Incidentally Encoded Information After Deep but Not Shallow Encoding

SLEEP ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 43 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. A34-A34
Author(s):  
E M Wernette ◽  
K M Fenn
Keyword(s):  
Slow Wave ◽  
Memory Consolidation ◽  
Slow Wave Sleep ◽  
Declarative Memory ◽  
Memory Performance ◽  
Memory Test ◽  
Memory Traces ◽  
Incidental Encoding ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
With Memory

Abstract Introduction Slow wave sleep (SWS) strengthens declarative memory for information studied for a later test. However, research on the effect of sleep on information that is not intentionally remembered is scare. Previous research from our lab suggests sleep consolidates some, but not all, information that has been encoded incidentally, meaning that it has been acted on but not intentionally remembered. It remains unclear what determines which information benefits from sleep-dependent consolidation processes and what aspects of sleep are related to these mnemonic benefits. In two experiments, we test the hypothesis that sleep consolidates strong but not weak memory traces following incidental encoding, and assess the relationship between memory performance and objective sleep characteristics. Methods In Experiment 1, participants rated words one (weak traces) or three times (strong traces) in a deep or shallow incidental encoding task. Participants either rated words on a scale from ‘concrete’ to ‘abstract’ (deep) or counted the vowels in the words (shallow). Following a 12-hour period containing sleep or wakefulness, participants took a surprise memory test. In Experiment 2, participants rated words one or three times in the deep encoding task, received an 8-hour sleep opportunity with polysomnography, and took the surprise memory test. Results In Experiment 1, participants remembered words better after sleep than wake regardless of whether words were encoded one or three times, but only after deep encoding. Sleep did not consolidate information following shallow encoding. Experiment 2 is ongoing, but we predict that the amount of SWS will correlate positively with memory. Conclusion Results thus far suggest sleep may have consolidated information based on the strength of memory traces. Because deep encoding results in stronger memory traces than shallow encoding, this work is broadly consistent with theories of memory consolidation that predict sleep is more beneficial for strong memory traces than weak, such as the synaptic downscaling hypothesis. Support N/A

scholarly journals Memorable words are monogamous: The role of synonymy and homonymy in word recognition memory

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kyle Mahowald ◽  
Phillip Isola ◽  
Evelina Fedorenko ◽  
Edward Gibson ◽  
Aude Oliva
Keyword(s):  
Recognition Memory ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Recognition Performance ◽  
Memory Performance ◽  
Affect Recognition ◽  
Rational Analysis ◽  
Intended Meaning ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
With Memory

What makes a word memorable? Prior research has identified numerous factors: word frequency, concreteness, imageability, and valence have all been shown to affect recognition performance. One important dimension that has not received much attention is the nature of the relationship between words and meanings. Under the hypothesis that words are encoded primarily by their meanings, and not by their surface forms, this relationship should be central to determining word memorability. In particular, rational analysis suggests that people will more easily remember words that convey a large amount of informationabout their intended meaning and that have few alternatives – that is, memorable words will be those with few possiblemeanings and synonyms. To test this hypothesis, we ran two large-scale recognition memory experiments (each with 2,222 words, 600+ participants). Memory performance was overall high, on par with memory for pictures in a similar paradigm. Critically, however, not all words were remembered equally well. Consistent with our proposal, the best recognized words had few meanings and few synonyms. Indeed, the most memorable words had a one-to-one relationship with their meanings. Estimates of memorability derived from this rational account explain a large amount of the variance in word memorability.

The Effects of Testosterone on Cognition in Elderly Men: A Review

CNS Spectrums ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 13 (10) ◽  
pp. 887-897 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew F. Warren ◽  
Michael J. Serby ◽  
David M. Roane
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Measures ◽  
Elderly Men ◽  
Cognitive Domains ◽  
Testosterone Levels ◽  
Visuospatial Function ◽  
Androgen Depletion ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
With Memory ◽  
Larger Sample

ABSTRACTIn this article, the literature examining the relationship between testosterone and various cognitive domains in elderly men is reviewed. The review focuses on the role of endogenous testosterone levels and the effects of androgen depletion and replacement. The cognitive domains most commonly linked to testosterone include memory and visuospatial function. Indeed, the literature suggests that in certain conditions (ie, hypogonadism, cognitive impairment) testosterone levels may be significantly associated with memory and visuospatial function, but not other cognitive functions. Studies with larger sample sizes and more sensitive cognitive measures are indicated, as questions remain about the potential role of testosterone as a cognitive enhancer.

scholarly journals The relationship between eye movements and autobiographical recollection is mediated by individual differences in autobiographical capacity

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Armson ◽  
Nicholas Diamond ◽  
Laryssa Levesque ◽  
Jennifer Ryan ◽  
Brian Levine
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Eye Movements ◽  
Free Recall ◽  
Memory Performance ◽  
Fixation Rate ◽  
Blank Screen ◽  
Autobiographical Recall ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Precise Role

The precise role of visual mechanisms in recollection of personal past events is unknown. The present study addresses this question from the oculomotor perspective. Participants freely recalled past episodes while viewing a blank screen under free and fixed viewing conditions. Memory performance was quantified with the Autobiographical Interview, which separates internal (episodic) and external (non-episodic) details. In Study 1, fixation rate was predictive of the number of internal (but not external) details recalled across both free and fixed viewing. In Study 2, using an experimenter-controlled staged event, we again observed the effect of fixations on free recall of internal (but not external) details, but this was modulated by individual differences in AM, such that the coupling between fixations and internal details was greater for those endorsing higher than lower episodic AM. These results suggest that eye movements promote richness in autobiographical recall, particularly for those with strong AM.

The Study Of Memory Characteristics Of Adolescents And Methods Of Its Development

2021 ◽  
Vol 03 (08) ◽  
pp. 15-17
Author(s):  
Oymatova Dilorom Ruzimurotovna ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Human Life ◽  
Memory Development ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
Developmental Features ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
With Memory ◽  
Memory Characteristics

The article discusses the peculiarities of memory and its developmental features, the role of memory in human life, the variability of memory in adolescents, ways to strengthen memory, the relationship of thinking and perception with memory, reading and memory development.

scholarly journals Incorporation of fragmented visuo-olfactory episodic memory into dreams and its association with memory performance

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Plailly ◽  
M. Villalba ◽  
R. Vallat ◽  
A. Nicolas ◽  
P. Ruby
Keyword(s):  
Episodic Memory ◽  
Spatial Memory ◽  
Memory Consolidation ◽  
Memory Performance ◽  
Dream Content ◽  
The Other ◽  
Review Of The Literature ◽  
Comprehensive Review ◽  
Odor Recognition ◽  
With Memory

Abstract The question of a possible link between dream content and memory consolidation remains open. After a comprehensive review of the literature, we present novel findings from an experiment testing whether the incorporation of recently learned stimuli into dream reports is associated with improved post-sleep memory performance. Thirty-two high dream recallers freely explored new visuo-olfactory episodes for 3 consecutive days. During the nights following each non-explicit encoding, participants wore a wrist actimeter, and woke up at 5am and their usual waking time to record their dreams (intensity of all oneiric sensory perception was assessed using scales). A total of 120 dreams were reported and elements related to the encoding phase were identified in 37 of them, either learning-related (mainly visual- and rarely olfactory-related elements), or experiment-related (lab- or experimenters-related elements). On the 4th day, we found that participants with learning-related (n = 16) and participants with learning-related and/or experiment-related dreams (n = 21) had similar odor recognition and odor-evoked episodic memory with the other participants. However, they had significantly better visuo-spatial memory of the episodes in comparison to the other participants. Our results support the hypothesis that the learning phase is loosely incorporated into dreams and that this incorporation is associated with sleep related memory consolidation.

scholarly journals Differential roles of sleep spindles and sleep slow oscillations in memory consolidation

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yina Wei ◽  
Giri P Krishnan ◽  
Maxim Komarov ◽  
Maxim Bazhenov
Keyword(s):  
Memory Consolidation ◽  
Testable Hypothesis ◽  
State Transitions ◽  
Sleep Stages ◽  
Sleep Spindles ◽  
Slow Oscillations ◽  
Natural Sleep ◽  
Sleep Rhythms ◽  
Spike Sequence

AbstractSleep plays an important role in consolidation of recent memories. However, the mechanisms of consolidation remain poorly understood. In this study, using a realistic computational model of the thalamocortical network, we demonstrated that sleep spindles (the hallmark of N2 stage sleep) and slow oscillations (the hallmark of N3 stage sleep) both facilitate spike sequence replay as necessary for consolidation. When multiple memories were trained, the local nature of spike sequence replay during spindles allowed replay of the memories independently, while during slow oscillations replay of the weak memory was competing to the strong memory replay. This led to the weak memory extinction unless when sleep spindles (N2 sleep) preceded slow oscillations (N3 sleep), as observed during natural sleep. Our study presents a mechanistic explanation for the role of sleep rhythms in memory consolidation and proposes a testable hypothesis how the natural structure of sleep stages provides an optimal environment to consolidate memories.Significant StatementNumerous studies suggest importance of NREM sleep rhythms – spindles and slow oscillations - in sleep related memory consolidation. However, synaptic mechanisms behind the role of these rhythms in memory and learning are still unknown. Our new study predicts that sleep replay - the neuronal substrate of memory consolidation - is organized within the sleep spindles and coordinated by the Down to Up state transitions of the slow oscillation. For multiple competing memories, slow oscillations facilitated only strongest memory replay, while sleep spindles allowed a consolidation of the multiple competing memories independently. Our study predicts how the basic structure of the natural sleep stages provides an optimal environment for consolidation of multiple memories.

scholarly journals Mediating Role of Cerebellar Subregion Volume in the Relationship Between Gait Speed and Working Memory

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Junyeon Won ◽  
Daniel D. Callow ◽  
Jeremy J. Purcell ◽  
J. Carson Smith
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Gait Speed ◽  
Memory Performance ◽  
Neural Mechanism ◽  
Neural Basis ◽  
Younger Adults ◽  
Mediating Role ◽  
Human Connectome Project ◽  
The Relationship

Abstract Introduction: The relationship between gait speed and working memory is well-understood in older adults. However, it remains to be determined whether this relationship also exists in younger adults; and there is little known regarding the possible neural mechanism underlying the association between gait speed and working memory. The aims of this study are to determine if there is: 1) an association between gait speed and working memory performance; and 2) a mediating role of cerebellar subregion volume in the correlation between gait speed and working memory in healthy younger adults.Methods: 1054 younger adults (28.7±3.6 years) from the Human Connectome Project were included in the analyses. A four-meter gait test was used to assess gait speed. The N-back task was conducted to measure working memory performance [accuracy and response time(RT)]. T1-weighted structural MRI data (obtained using Siemens 3T MRI scanner) was used to assess cerebellar subregion volumes. Linear regression and mediation analysis were used to examine the relationships between the variables after controlling for age, sex, and education. Results: Faster gait speed was associated with faster working memory RT in younger adults. Greater cerebellar subregion volumes were associated with faster gait speed and better working memory performance. Faster gait speed was correlated with faster working memory RT through greater volume of cerebellar region VIIIa. Conclusions: The present study suggests faster gait speed is associated with faster RT during working memory tasks in younger individuals. The specific subregion of the cerebellum (VIIIa) may serve as an important neural basis linking gait speed and working memory.

scholarly journals Specific responses of human hippocampal neurons are associated with better memory

2015 ◽  
Vol 112 (33) ◽  
pp. 10503-10508 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nanthia A. Suthana ◽  
Neelroop N. Parikshak ◽  
Arne D. Ekstrom ◽  
Matias J. Ison ◽  
Barbara J. Knowlton ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Medial Temporal Lobe ◽  
Hippocampal Neurons ◽  
Declarative Memory ◽  
Memory Performance ◽  
Target Image ◽  
Unique Role ◽  
Human Hippocampus ◽  
Individual Concepts ◽  
With Memory

A population of human hippocampal neurons has shown responses to individual concepts (e.g., Jennifer Aniston) that generalize to different instances of the concept. However, recordings from the rodent hippocampus suggest an important function of these neurons is their ability to discriminate overlapping representations, or pattern separate, a process that may facilitate discrimination of similar events for successful memory. In the current study, we explored whether human hippocampal neurons can also demonstrate the ability to discriminate between overlapping representations and whether this selectivity could be directly related to memory performance. We show that among medial temporal lobe (MTL) neurons, certain populations of neurons are selective for a previously studied (target) image in that they show a significant decrease in firing rate to very similar (lure) images. We found that a greater proportion of these neurons can be found in the hippocampus compared with other MTL regions, and that memory for individual items is correlated to the degree of selectivity of hippocampal neurons responsive to those items. Moreover, a greater proportion of hippocampal neurons showed selective firing for target images in good compared with poor performers, with overall memory performance correlated with hippocampal selectivity. In contrast, selectivity in other MTL regions was not associated with memory performance. These findings show that a substantial proportion of human hippocampal neurons encode specific memories that support the discrimination of overlapping representations. These results also provide previously unidentified evidence consistent with a unique role of the human hippocampus in orthogonalization of representations in declarative memory.

scholarly journals Neurogranin, a synaptic protein, is associated with memory independent of Alzheimer biomarkers

Neurology ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 89 (17) ◽  
pp. 1782-1788 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kaitlin B. Casaletto ◽  
Fanny M. Elahi ◽  
Brianne M. Bettcher ◽  
John Neuhaus ◽  
Barbara B. Bendlin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Cognitive Aging ◽  
Brain Aging ◽  
Memory Performance ◽  
Verbal Learning ◽  
Delayed Recall ◽  
Age Related ◽  
T Tau ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
With Memory

Objective:To determine the association between synaptic functioning as measured via neurogranin in CSF and cognition relative to established Alzheimer disease (AD) biomarkers in neurologically healthy older adults.Methods:We analyzed CSF concentrations of neurogranin, β-amyloid (Aβ42), phosphorylated tau (p-tau), and total tau (t-tau) among 132 neurologically normal older adults (mean 64.5, range 55–85), along with bilateral hippocampal volumes and a measure of episodic memory (Auditory Verbal Learning Test, delayed recall). Univariable analyses examined the relationship between neurogranin and the other AD-related biomarkers. Multivariable regression models examined the relationship between neurogranin and delayed recall, adjusting for age and sex, and interaction terms (neurogranin × AD biomarkers).Results:Higher neurogranin concentrations were associated with older age (ρ = 0.20, p = 0.02), lower levels of p-tau and t-tau, and smaller hippocampal volumes (p < 0.03), but not with CSF Aβ42 (p = 0.18). In addition, CSF neurogranin demonstrated a significant relationship with memory performance independent of the AD-related biomarkers; individuals with the lowest CSF neurogranin concentrations performed better on delayed recall than those with medium or high CSF neurogranin concentrations (p < 0.01). Notably, CSF p-tau, t-tau, and Aβ42 and hippocampal volumes were not significantly associated with delayed recall scores (p > 0.40), and did not interact with neurogranin to predict memory (p > 0.10).Conclusions:Synaptic dysfunction (assessed via neurogranin) may be an early pathologic process in age-related neurodegeneration, and a sensitive marker of age-related cognitive abilities, potentially preceding or even acting independently from AD pathogenesis. Synaptic functioning may be a useful early marker of cognitive aging and possibly a target for future brain aging interventions.

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