Changes in Sleep Architecture following Motor Learning Depend on Initial Skill Level

2007 ◽  
Vol 19 (5) ◽  
pp. 817-829 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin R. Peters ◽  
Valerie Smith ◽  
Carlyle T. Smith
Keyword(s):  
Motor Learning ◽  
Memory Consolidation ◽  
Procedural Memory ◽  
Skill Level ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Sleep Stages ◽  
Pursuit Rotor ◽  
Rem Density ◽  
Stage 2 Sleep ◽  
High Skill

Previous research has linked both rapid eyemovement (REM) sleep and Stage 2 sleep to procedural memory consolidation. The present study sought to clarify the relationship between sleep stages and procedural memory consolidation by examining the effect of initial skill level in this relationship in young adults. In-home sleep recordings were performed on participants before and after learning the pursuit rotor task. We divided the participants into low- and high-skill groups based on their initial performance of the pursuit rotor task. In high-skill participants, there was a significant increase in Stage 2 spindle density after learning, and there was a significant correlation between the spindle density that occurred after learning and pursuit rotor performance at retest 1 week later. In contrast, there was a significant correlation between changes in REM density and performance on the pursuit rotor task during retest 1 week later in low-skill participants, although the actual increase in REM density failed to reach significance in this group. The results of the present study suggest the presence of a double dissociation in the sleep-related processes that are involved in procedural memory consolidation in low- and high-skill individuals. These results indicate that the changes in sleep microarchitecture that take place after learning depend on the initial skill level of the individual and therefore provide validation for the model proposed by Smith et al. [Smith, C. T., Aubrey, J. B., & Peters, K. R. Different roles for REM and Stage 2 sleep in motor learning. Psychologica Belgica, 44, 79–102, 2004]. Accordingly, skill level is an important variable that needs to be considered in future research on sleep and memory consolidation.

scholarly journals Contribution of REM sleep and N2 sleep spindles to procedural memory consolidation in Vipassana meditators and non-meditating controls.

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizaveta Solomonova ◽  
Simon Dubé ◽  
Cloé Blanchette-Carrière ◽  
Arnaud Samson-Richer ◽  
Michelle Carr ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Eye Movement ◽  
Rem Sleep ◽  
Memory Consolidation ◽  
Nrem Sleep ◽  
Procedural Memory ◽  
Sleep Stages ◽  
Sleep Spindles ◽  
Meditation Practice ◽  
Rapid Eye Movement ◽  
Vipassana Meditation

Study objectives: Rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep, and sleep spindles are all implicated in the consolidation of procedural memories. The relative contributions of sleep stages and sleep spindles was previously shown to depend on individual differences in task processing. Experience with Vipassana meditation is one such individual difference that has not been investigated in relation to sleep. Vipassana meditation is a form of mental training that enhances proprioceptive and somatic awareness and alters attentional style. The goal was thus to examine a potential moderating role for Vipassana meditation experience on sleep-dependent procedural memory consolidation.Methods: Groups of Vipassana meditation practitioners (N=20) and matched meditation-naïve controls (N=20) slept for a single 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 negatively correlated with density of fast and positively correlated with density of slow occipital spindles, while in controls task improvement was associated with increases in REM sleep. Meditation practitioners had a lower density of sleep spindles, especially in occipital regions.Conclusions: Results suggest that neuroplastic changes associated with sustained meditation practice may alter overall sleep architecture and reorganize sleep-dependent patterns of memory consolidation. The lower density of spindles in meditators may mean that meditation practice compensates for some of the memory functions of sleep.

scholarly journals Abnormal Sleep Spindles, Memory Consolidation, and Schizophrenia

2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 451-479 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dara S. Manoach ◽  
Robert Stickgold
Keyword(s):  
Memory Consolidation ◽  
Sensory Information ◽  
Thalamic Reticular Nucleus ◽  
Reticular Nucleus ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Sleep Spindles ◽  
Treatment And Prevention ◽  
Overwhelming Evidence ◽  
Stage 2 Sleep ◽  
Impaired Sleep

There is overwhelming evidence that sleep is crucial for memory consolidation. Patients with schizophrenia and their unaffected relatives have a specific deficit in sleep spindles, a defining oscillation of non-rapid eye movement (NREM) Stage 2 sleep that, in coordination with other NREM oscillations, mediate memory consolidation. In schizophrenia, the spindle deficit correlates with impaired sleep-dependent memory consolidation, positive symptoms, and abnormal thalamocortical connectivity. These relations point to dysfunction of the thalamic reticular nucleus (TRN), which generates spindles, gates the relay of sensory information to the cortex, and modulates thalamocortical communication. Genetic studies are beginning to provide clues to possible neurodevelopmental origins of TRN-mediated thalamocortical circuit dysfunction and to identify novel targets for treating the related memory deficits and symptoms. By forging empirical links in causal chains from risk genes to thalamocortical circuit dysfunction, spindle deficits, memory impairment, symptoms, and diagnosis, future research can advance our mechanistic understanding, treatment, and prevention of schizophrenia.

scholarly journals Menstrual Cycle Modulates Motor Learning and Memory Consolidation in Humans

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 696
Author(s):  
Koyuki Ikarashi ◽  
Daisuke Sato ◽  
Kaho Iguchi ◽  
Yasuhiro Baba ◽  
Koya Yamashiro
Keyword(s):  
Menstrual Cycle ◽  
Motor Learning ◽  
Memory Consolidation ◽  
Premenstrual Syndrome ◽  
Primary Motor Cortex ◽  
Declarative Memory ◽  
Procedural Memory ◽  
Menstrual Phase ◽  
Final Performance ◽  
Sensorimotor Skills

Numerous studies have noted that sex and/or menstrual phase influences cognitive performance (in particular, declarative memory), but the effects on motor learning (ML) and procedural memory/consolidation remain unclear. In order to test the hypothesis that ML differs across menstrual cycle phases, initial ML, overlearning, consolidation, and final performance were assessed in women in the follicular, preovulation and luteal phases. Primary motor cortex (M1) oscillations were assessed neuro-physiologically, and premenstrual syndrome and interoceptive awareness scores were assessed psychologically. We found not only poorer performance gain through initial ML but also lower final performance after overlearning a day and a week later in the luteal group than in the ovulation group. This behavioral difference could be explained by particular premenstrual syndrome symptoms and associated failure of normal M1 excitability in the luteal group. In contrast, the offline effects, i.e., early and late consolidation, did not differ across menstrual cycle phases. These results provide information regarding the best time in which to start learning new sensorimotor skills to achieve expected gains.

scholarly journals Shining a Light on the Mechanisms of Sleep for Memory Consolidation

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michelle A. Frazer ◽  
Yesenia Cabrera ◽  
Rockelle S. Guthrie ◽  
Gina R. Poe
Keyword(s):  
Rem Sleep ◽  
Neural Activity ◽  
Memory Consolidation ◽  
Strong Support ◽  
Nrem Sleep ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Sleep Spindles ◽  
Slow Oscillations ◽  
Theta Waves ◽  
Learning Tasks

Abstract Purpose of review This paper reviews all optogenetic studies that directly test various sleep states, traits, and circuit-level activity profiles for the consolidation of different learning tasks. Recent findings Inhibiting or exciting neurons involved either in the production of sleep states or in the encoding and consolidation of memories reveals sleep states and traits that are essential for memory. REM sleep, NREM sleep, and the N2 transition to REM (characterized by sleep spindles) are integral to memory consolidation. Neural activity during sharp-wave ripples, slow oscillations, theta waves, and spindles are the mediators of this process. Summary These studies lend strong support to the hypothesis that sleep is essential to the consolidation of memories from the hippocampus and the consolidation of motor learning which does not necessarily involve the hippocampus. Future research can further probe the types of memory dependent on sleep-related traits and on the neurotransmitters and neuromodulators required.

Effects of Model Performances on Music Skill Acquisition and Overnight Memory Consolidation

2014 ◽  
Vol 62 (1) ◽  
pp. 89-99 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carla D. Cash ◽  
Sarah E. Allen ◽  
Amy L. Simmons ◽  
Robert A. Duke
Keyword(s):  
Skill Acquisition ◽  
Memory Consolidation ◽  
Procedural Memory ◽  
Auditory Model ◽  
Research Participants ◽  
Nondominant Hand ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Rest Intervals

This study was designed to investigate the extent to which the presentation of an auditory model prior to learning a novel melody affects performance during active practice and the overnight consolidation of procedural memory. During evening training sessions, 32 nonpianist musicians practiced a 13-note keyboard melody with their left (nondominant) hand in twelve 30-s practice intervals separated by 30-s rest intervals. Participants were instructed to play the sequence “as quickly, accurately, and evenly as possible.” Approximately half the participants, prior to the first practice interval, listened to 10 repetitions of the target melody played at 552 tones per minute (half note = 138). All participants were tested on the target melody the following morning, approximately 12 hr after training, in three 30-s blocks separated by 30-s rest intervals. Performance was measured in terms of the mean number of correct key presses per 30-s block (CKP/B). Consistent with previous research, participants made considerable improvements in CKP/B during the evening training sessions and between the end of training and the morning test sessions. Learners who listened to the model made significantly larger gains in performance during training and between the end of training and test than did those who did not hear the model.

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 Procedural memory consolidation after a night of sleep in bipolar disorder with psychotic features

2019 ◽  
Vol 210 ◽  
pp. 299-300
Author(s):  
Ann K. Shinn ◽  
Cagri Yuksel ◽  
Grace Masters ◽  
Danielle Pfaff ◽  
Erin Wamsley ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Bipolar Disorder ◽  
Memory Consolidation ◽  
Procedural Memory ◽  
Psychotic Features

scholarly journals Procedural memory consolidation is associated with heart rate variability and sleep spindles

2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Frank J. van Schalkwijk ◽  
Theresa Hauser ◽  
Kerstin Hoedlmoser ◽  
Mohamed S. Ameen ◽  
Frank H. Wilhelm ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Heart Rate ◽  
Heart Rate Variability ◽  
Memory Consolidation ◽  
Procedural Memory ◽  
Sleep Spindles
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