Sleep Spindles and Memory Reprocessing

James W Antony; Monika Schönauer; Bernhard P Staresina; Scott A Cairney

doi:10.1016/j.tins.2018.09.012

Sleep Spindles and Memory Reprocessing

Trends Neurosci. 2019 Jan;42(1):1-3. doi: 10.1016/j.tins.2018.09.012. Epub 2018 Oct 16.

Authors

James W Antony¹, Monika Schönauer¹, Bernhard P Staresina², Scott A Cairney³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Psychology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA.
² School of Psychology, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK.
³ Department of Psychology, University of York, York, UK. Electronic address: scott.cairney@york.ac.uk.

PMID: 30340875
DOI: 10.1016/j.tins.2018.09.012

Abstract

We propose a framework for the memory function of spindle oscillations during sleep. In this framework, memories are reinstated by spindle events and further reprocessed during subsequent spindle refractory periods. We posit that spindle refractoriness is crucial for protecting memory reprocessing from interference. We further argue that temporally-coordinated spindle refractory periods across local networks facilitate the consolidation of rich, multimodal representations, and that localized spindle refractoriness optimizes oscillatory interactions that support systems consolidation in the sleeping brain.

Keywords: consolidation; neural oscillations; reactivation; refractoriness.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Review

MeSH terms

Animals
Brain / physiology*
Electroencephalography / methods
Hippocampus / physiology
Humans
Memory / physiology*
Memory Consolidation / physiology*
Sleep / physiology*

Abstract

Publication types

MeSH terms

Grants and funding