Targeted memory reactivation of newly learned words during sleep triggers REM-mediated integration of new memories and existing knowledge

Tamminen, Jakke; Ralph, Matthew A. Lambon; Lewis, Penelope A.

doi:10.1016/j.nlm.2016.11.012

Cited by 50 publications

(35 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…For example, learning the locations of card-pairs (Diekelmann et al, 2011, 2012), the locations of object images (Rudoy et al, 2009) or learning to perform a melody (Antony et al, 2012; Schönauer et al, 2014) are essentially learning tasks that can occur in relative isolation, with less dependence on other relevant knowledge. This interpretation also fits with a recent study by Tamminen and colleagues (2017), who studied the effects of TMR on the integration of new memories using a lexical competition task, in which newly learned spoken words (e.g., cathedruke ) compete with similar-sounding existing words (e.g., cathedral ). Converging with the present findings, TMR did not modulate lexical competition overall, but changes in lexical competition to cued words was predicted by the time spent in REM sleep during a 90-min afternoon nap.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 89%

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Vocabulary learning benefits from REM after slow-wave sleep

Batterink

Westerberg

Paller

2017

Neurobiology of Learning and Memory

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Memory reactivation during slow-wave sleep (SWS) influences the consolidation of recently acquired knowledge. This reactivation occurs spontaneously during sleep but can also be triggered by presenting learning-related cues, a technique known as targeted memory reactivation (TMR). Here we examined whether TMR can improve vocabulary learning. Participants learned the meanings of 60 novel words. Auditory cues for half the words were subsequently presented during SWS in an afternoon nap. Memory performance for cued versus uncued words did not differ at the group level but was systematically influenced by REM sleep duration. Participants who obtained relatively greater amounts of REM showed a significant benefit for cued relative to uncued words, whereas participants who obtained little or no REM demonstrated a significant effect in the opposite direction. We propose that REM after SWS may be critical for the consolidation of highly integrative memories, such as new vocabulary. Reactivation during SWS may allow newly encoded memories to be associated with other information, but this association can include disruptive linkages with pre-existing memories. Subsequent REM sleep may then be particularly beneficial for integrating new memories into appropriate pre-existing memory networks. These findings support the general proposition that memory storage benefits optimally from a cyclic succession of SWS and REM.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 89%

“…A recent study provides support for this idea (Tamminen, Lambon Ralph & Lewis, 2017). In this study, learners were presented with fictitious novel spoken words (e.g., cathedruke ) that were each based on a familiar existing word (e.g., cathedral ) while performing a phoneme-monitoring task.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 80%

Vocabulary learning benefits from REM after slow-wave sleep

Batterink

Westerberg

Paller

2017

Neurobiology of Learning and Memory

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“…No effects on reaction times were observed. A similar result was reported by Tamminen and colleagues, who failed to show an effect of TMR on a lexical competition task, which tests the level of integration between novel words and pre‐existing mental lexicon, but observed that the change in lexical competition for cued items was associated with time spent in REM sleep.…”

Section: Tmr and Declarative Memorysupporting

confidence: 85%

Shaping memory consolidation via targeted memory reactivation during sleep

Cellini

Capuozzo

2018

Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences

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Recent studies have shown that the reactivation of specific memories during sleep can be modulated using external stimulation. Specifically, it has been reported that matching a sensory stimulus (e.g., odor or sound cue) with target information (e.g., pairs of words, pictures, and motor sequences) during wakefulness, and then presenting the cue alone during sleep, facilitates memory of the target information. Thus, presenting learned cues while asleep may reactivate related declarative, procedural, and emotional material, and facilitate the neurophysiological processes underpinning memory consolidation in humans. This paradigm, which has been named targeted memory reactivation, has been successfully used to improve visuospatial and verbal memories, strengthen motor skills, modify implicit social biases, and enhance fear extinction. However, these studies also show that results depend on the type of memory investigated, the task employed, the sensory cue used, and the specific sleep stage of stimulation. Here, we present a review of how memory consolidation may be shaped using noninvasive sensory stimulation during sleep.

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“…In rodents, decreasing firing rates and increased synchrony in hippocampal CA1 during the course of sleep are correlated with the power of theta oscillations during REM episodes, furthering a role for REM sleep in sleep-related neuronal plasticity [48]. Human Targeted Memory Reactivation (TMR) studies also support complementary roles for NREM and REM sleep; successful integration of new words into existing knowledge following repeated presentation of learned words during NREM sleep was actually predicted by the time spent in REM sleep [49]. Furthermore, pontine wave activity was found causally linked to memory consolidation in rodents [50,51], suggesting a specific role for the phasic component of REM sleep.…”

Section: Rem and Learning: A Controversial Topicmentioning

confidence: 94%

The microstructure of REM sleep: Why phasic and tonic?

Simor

Wijk

Nobili

et al. 2020

Sleep Medicine Reviews

127

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s u m m a r yRapid eye movement (REM) sleep is a peculiar neural state that occupies 20e25% of nighttime sleep in healthy human adults and seems to play critical roles in a variety of functions spanning from basic physiological mechanisms to complex cognitive processes. REM sleep exhibits a plethora of transient neurophysiological features, such as eye movements, muscle twitches, and changes in autonomic activity, however, despite its heterogeneous nature, it is usually conceptualized as a homogeneous sleep state. We propose here that differentiating and exploring the fine microstructure of REM sleep, especially its phasic and tonic constituents would provide a novel framework to examine the mechanisms and putative functions of REM sleep. In this review, we show that phasic and tonic REM periods are remarkably different neural states with respect to environmental alertness, spontaneous and evoked cortical activity, information processing, and seem to contribute differently to the dysfunctions of REM sleep in several neurological and psychiatric disorders. We highlight that a distinctive view on phasic and tonic REM microstates would facilitate the understanding of the mechanisms and functions of REM sleep in healthy and pathological conditions.

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Targeted memory reactivation of newly learned words during sleep triggers REM-mediated integration of new memories and existing knowledge

Cited by 50 publications

References 37 publications

Vocabulary learning benefits from REM after slow-wave sleep

Vocabulary learning benefits from REM after slow-wave sleep

Shaping memory consolidation via targeted memory reactivation during sleep

The microstructure of REM sleep: Why phasic and tonic?

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