Strategically strengthening declarative memories during sleep

在睡眠期间有策略地强化陈述性记忆

• 批准号: 1025697
• 负责人: Ken Paller
• 金额: $ 50万
• 依托单位: Northwestern University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2010
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2010-09-15 至 2014-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1025697&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Strategically; strengthening; declarative; memories; during

The ability to accurately remember information is central to human success. Yet, as new information is added every day, the human brain's expanding storehouse of memories requires continual restructuring. How can the massive influx of new information be used to best advantage? With funding from the National Science Foundation, Ken Paller, Ph.D., of Northwestern University is investigating the intriguing hypothesis that brain events during sleep are instrumental for effective memory storage. Although some memories rapidly fade away, others endure for years, presumably because of a progression of changes in brain networks. It remains unclear how memories are enduringly stored in the human brain, and to what extent sleep might be helpful. This project explores a novel way in which memory storage can be improved. Specific sounds related to information learned previously are presented softly while an individual sleeps. These sounds can in theory prompt memory rehearsal during sleep, leading to an improvement in memory tested a short time after awakening. The procedures thus provide an opportunity to observe a potential benefit of sleep -- memory strengthening that could underlie lasting memory storage. This project explores the procedures whereby these "sleep-sounds" are effective, including (a) determining whether long-lasting memory improvement can be produced by sleep-sounds, (b) comparing learning of spatial locations, of words, and of specific manual actions, and (c) showing which stages of sleep are amenable to this memory strengthening. Experiments also compare the memory strengthening that is possible when participants are awake versus asleep. Electroencephalographic measures of brain activity are included in the project to further elucidate the brain mechanisms of memory improvement during sleep. Although it is widely thought that new information cannot be learned during sleep, information learned before going to sleep can apparently be rehearsed during sleep. This project provides new evidence about how a period of sleep can lead to memory improvement and how that improvement can be focused on specific information.Results obtained through this project provide new leverage on understanding memory storage in general, and memory processing during sleep in particular. This project is expanding knowledge about the special role that sleep can play in the stabilization of memories and in the formation of interconnections among these memories that can be the basis for creative thinking. By advancing understanding of how memories are strengthened during sleep, implications will ultimately arise for promoting optimal educational outcomes in the classroom, enhancing the daily acquisition of new information and skills, and evaluating memory in legal contexts, among other applications. An appreciation of sleep and learning will also aid efforts to emphasize the importance of suitable amounts of sleep for public health.

准确记住信息的能力是人类成功的核心。然而，随着每天都有新的信息加入，人类大脑不断扩大的记忆库需要不断重组。如何才能最大程度地利用大量涌入的新信息？在美国国家科学基金会的资助下，西北大学的肯·帕勒博士正在研究一个有趣的假设：睡眠期间的大脑活动有助于有效的记忆存储。尽管有些记忆很快就会消失，但另一些记忆却能持续多年，大概是因为大脑网络发生了一系列变化。目前尚不清楚记忆如何持久地存储在人脑中，以及睡眠在多大程度上有帮助。该项目探索了一种改进内存存储的新方法。当一个人睡觉时，与先前学到的信息相关的特定声音会被轻柔地呈现。理论上，这些声音可以促进睡眠期间的记忆排练，从而在醒来后短时间内测试记忆力的改善。因此，这些程序提供了一个观察睡眠潜在益处的机会——记忆增强可能是持久记忆存储的基础。该项目探讨了这些“睡眠声音”有效的程序，包括（a）确定睡眠声音是否可以产生持久的记忆改善，（b）比较空间位置、单词和特定手册的学习行动，以及（c）显示哪些睡眠阶段适合这种记忆强化。实验还比较了参与者醒着和睡着时可能增强的记忆力。该项目包括大脑活动的脑电图测量，以进一步阐明睡眠期间记忆改善的大脑机制。尽管人们普遍认为新信息无法在睡眠期间学习，但睡前学到的信息显然可以在睡眠期间排练。该项目提供了关于一段时间的睡眠如何导致记忆力改善以及如何将这种改善集中在特定信息上的新证据。通过该项目获得的结果为理解一般记忆存储，特别是睡眠期间的记忆处理提供了新的依据。该项目正在扩大人们对睡眠在稳定记忆以及形成这些记忆之间的相互联系方面所发挥的特殊作用的认识，这些相互联系可以成为创造性思维的基础。通过加深对睡眠期间记忆如何增强的理解，最终将对促进课堂上的最佳教育成果、加强新信息和技能的日常获取以及在法律背景下评估记忆等应用产生影响。对睡眠和学习的重视也将有助于强调适量睡眠对公共卫生的重要性。