reviewPhysiological ReviewsApr 1, 2013GREEN OA

About Sleep's Role in Memory

BRBjörn RaschJBJan Born

University of Zurich · Swiss Integrative Center for Human Health

PubMed
Indexed incrossrefdatacitepubmed

Abstract

Over more than a century of research has established the fact that sleep benefits the retention of memory. In this review we aim to comprehensively cover the field of "sleep and memory" research by providing a historical perspective on concepts and a discussion of more recent key findings. Whereas initial theories posed a passive role for sleep enhancing memories by protecting them from interfering stimuli, current theories highlight an active role for sleep in which memories undergo a process of system consolidation during sleep. Whereas older research concentrated on the role of rapid-eye-movement (REM) sleep, recent work has revealed the importance of slow-wave sleep (SWS) for memory consolidation and also…

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Authors

2

Topics & keywords

Topics
Keywords
  • Memory consolidation
  • Neuroscience
  • Psychology
  • Sleep (system call)
  • Long-term memory
  • Hippocampus
  • Rapid eye movement sleep
  • Cognitive science
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