DOCSLIB.ORG

Sleep's Role in the Reprocessing and Restructuring of Memory

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Sleep's Role in the Reprocessing and Restructuring of Memory Sleep’s role in the reprocessing and restructuring of memory Anne Catharina Maria Koopman A thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Cardiff University School of Psychology July 2020 Thesis Summary Sleep disconnects us from our external environment and puts us in a vulnerable state, yet it is surprisingly universal. This thesis looks at the cognitive functions of sleep; specifically, the role of sleep in reprocessing and restructuring memory. It is now well-known that sleep actively consolidates memories, and even restructures them. This is likely achieved through the reactivation of memory representations. Previous research has shown that such reactivations can be triggered with a method called targeted memory reactivation (TMR). In Chapter 2, I used TMR during rapid eye movement (REM) and slow-wave sleep (SWS) to investigate the effect of cueing in these stages on electrophysiology and subsequent task behaviour in a two-handed serial reaction time task. TMR during SWS led to detectable memory reactivation, and significant behavioural improvements in the non-dominant but not the dominant hand. TMR during REM did not affect behaviour, although electrophysiological results indicated that cues were processed during this stage. Chapter 3 examined the effects of REM and SWS TMR on an associative memory task. We did not find any effect of SWS TMR. On the other hand, REM TMR improved remote associations between items which were not learned together but whose relationship could be inferred, indicating a role for REM sleep in memory restructuring. This was supported by a difference in event-related potentials in response to memory-related and control cues. However, two replications of the REM group showed that these results were not reliable. Chapter 4, finally, looked at the effects of wakefulness and sleep on two creative tasks. The more word-based task indeed benefitted from an interval containing sleep, but the more conceptual task showed improvements relating to wakefulness and time of day. Together, these results increase our understanding of how different sleep stages, wakefulness, and memory reactivation all influence the restructuring of memory. v vi Declaration and Statements DECLARATION This work has not been submitted in substance for any other degree or award at this or any other university or place of learning, nor is it being submitted concurrently for any other degree or award (outside of any formal collaboration agreement between the University and a partner organisation). Signed: Anne Koopman____ Date: 09/07/2020 STATEMENT 1 This thesis is being submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of PhD. Signed: Anne Koopman____ Date: 09/07/2020 STATEMENT 2 This thesis is the result of my own independent work/investigation, except where otherwise stated, and the views expressed are my own. Other sources are acknowledged by explicit references. The thesis has not been edited by a third party beyond what is permitted by Cardiff University's Use of Third Party Editors by Research Degree Students Procedure. Signed: Anne Koopman____ Date: 09/07/2020 STATEMENT 3 I hereby give consent for my thesis, if accepted, to be available in the University’s Open Access repository (or, where approved, to be available in the University’s library and for inter-library loan), and for the title and summary to be made available to outside organisations, subject to the expiry of a University-approved bar on access if applicable. Signed: Anne Koopman____ Date: 09/07/2020 WORD COUNT: 59,311 (Excluding summary, acknowledgements, declarations, contents pages, appendices, tables, diagrams and figures, references, bibliography, footnotes and endnotes) vii viii Table of Contents Thesis Summary .................................................................................................................................. v Declaration and Statements ............................................................................................................. vii Acknowledgements .......................................................................................................................... xiii Contributors ...................................................................................................................................... xv CHAPTER 1: General introduction .................................................................................................... 17 1.1 Preface .................................................................................................................................... 18 1.2 Sleep physiology...................................................................................................................... 19 1.3 Sleep and Memory .................................................................................................................. 21 1.3.1 Memory processes and systems ...................................................................................... 22 1.3.2 Models of sleep & memory .............................................................................................. 23 1.4 Memory reactivation and Targeted Memory Reactivation (TMR) ......................................... 26 1.4.1 Spontaneous reactivation ................................................................................................ 26 1.4.2 Targeted Memory Reactivation (TMR) ............................................................................ 29 1.4.3 Detection of human (sleep) reactivations ....................................................................... 31 1.5 The restructuring of memories during sleep .......................................................................... 34 1.5.1 Regularity abstraction and generalisation ....................................................................... 34 1.5.2 Associative inference ....................................................................................................... 36 1.5.3 Creativity .......................................................................................................................... 37 1.6 Summary ................................................................................................................................. 41 1.7 Research objectives ................................................................................................................ 42 CHAPTER 2: Targeted memory reactivation of a serial reaction time task in SWS, but not REM, preferentially benefits the non-dominant hand ............................................................................ 45 2.1 Abstract ................................................................................................................................... 46 2.2 Introduction ............................................................................................................................ 46 2.3 Materials and Methods ........................................................................................................... 49 2.3.1 Participants ...................................................................................................................... 49 2.3.2 Experimental tasks and design......................................................................................... 49 2.3.3 PSG data acquisition and analysis .................................................................................... 53 2.3.4 Electrophysiological analysis ............................................................................................ 54 2.3.5 Spindle analysis ................................................................................................................ 55 2.3.6 Behavioural analysis ......................................................................................................... 56 2.3.7 Classification .................................................................................................................... 58 2.4 Results ..................................................................................................................................... 60 2.4.1 Sleep parameters ............................................................................................................. 60 ix 2.4.2 Behaviour: Both Hands .................................................................................................... 61 2.4.3 Behaviour: Left and Right Hand ....................................................................................... 62 2.4.4 Electrophysiology: Spindle analysis ................................................................................. 63 2.4.5 Electrophysiology: Event-related potentials ................................................................... 65 2.4.6 Classification .................................................................................................................... 66 2.4.7 Correlating classification performance with behaviour .................................................. 69 2.5 Discussion ............................................................................................................................... 70 2.5.1 TMR in SWS but not REM benefits SRTT consolidation ................................................... 71 2.5.2 TMR preferentially benefits the non-dominant hand ..................................................... 72 2.5.3 Linear classifier with time domain features detects reactivation in SWS ....................... 73 2.5.4 Conclusion ......................................................................................................................
Load more

Recommended publications
  • A Phenomenology of Sleep
    Open Journal of Philosophy, 2014, 4, 117-129 Published Online May 2014 in SciRes. http://www.scirp.org/journal/ojpp http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/ojpp.2014.42016 The Gospel of Self-ing: A Phenomenology of Sleep Kuangming Wu Philosophy Department, University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, Oshkosh, USA Email: [email protected] Received 14 February 2014; revised 14 March 2014; accepted 20 March 2014 Copyright © 2014 by author and Scientific Research Publishing Inc. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution International License (CC BY). http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Abstract Sleep is consciousness naturally folded back to itself in the self-come-home-to-self, to find life nourished, renovated, and vitalized, all beyond objective management. Sleep can never be un- derstood with direct conscious approach, but must be approached indirectly, implicatively, and alive coherently, as tried here. Sleep (A) is Spontaneity, (B) Self-Fullness, and so (C) sleep is life’s Gospel of Self-ing. Keywords Sleep; Alive; Conscious; Spontaneity; Fullness; Gospel 1. Introduction Sleep is one basic, common, supportive, and yet quite elusive way of living to nourish and fulfill ourselves, con- stantly inviting us to mediate on it with care. The direct conscious approach usual in our thinking never under- stands sleep that is tacitly beyond-consciousness. Sleep must be approached indirectly, implicatively, and alive coherently, as tried here. Sadly, it is noteworthy that sleep is usually taken as nothing positive. This is so except surprising gems grud- gingly admitted at the end of this essay. The Judeo-Christian tradition takes sleep as a simple satisfaction of physical need, or as a symbol of sloth or death.
    [Show full text]
  • The Avatars in the Machine Dreaming As a Simulation of Social Reality
    The Avatars in the Machine Dreaming as a Simulation of Social Reality Antti Revonsuo, Jarno Tuominen & Katja Valli The idea that dreaming is a simulation of the wa ing world is currently !ecoming Authors a far more widely shared and acce"ted view among dream researchers. Several "hiloso"hers, "sychologists, and neuroscientists have recently characteri$ed Antti Revonsuo dreaming in terms of virtual reality, immersive spatiotem"oral simulation, or real% antti#revonsuo4utu#fi istic and useful world simulation# Thus, the conce"tion of dreaming as a simulated world now unifies definitions of the !asic nature of dreaming within dream and (5gs olan i S 5vde consciousness research# This novel conce"t of dreaming has conse&uently led to S 5vde, Sweden the idea that social interactions in dreams, nown to !e a universal and a!undant Turun ylio"isto feature of human dream content, can !est !e characteri$ed as a simulation of hu% Turku, 6inland man social reality, simulating the social skills, !onds, interactions, and networks that we engage in during our wa ing lives. 'et this tem"ting idea has never !e% Jarno Tuominen fore !een formulated into a clear and em"irically testa!le theory of dreaming# jarno#tuominen4utu#fi Here we show that a testa!le Social Simulation Theory )SST) of dreaming can !e Turun ylio"isto formulated, from which em"irical "redictions can !e derived# Some of the "redic% Turku, 6inland tions can gain initial su""ort !y relying on already e+isting data in the literature, !ut many more remain to !e tested !y further research# ,e
    [Show full text]
  • Download the Self-Compassion Saturday Ebook
    Edited by Jill M. Salahub Contents Introduction .................................................................................................................................................. 3 The Beginning ............................................................................................................................................... 4 Mary Anne Radmacher ................................................................................................................................. 8 Mary Anne Radmacher’s Body Gratitude Practice ..................................................................................... 16 Andrea Scher ............................................................................................................................................... 18 Laurie Wagner ............................................................................................................................................. 24 Judy Clement Wall ...................................................................................................................................... 30 Anne-Sophie Reinhardt ............................................................................................................................... 38 Susan Piver .................................................................................................................................................. 42 Kerilyn Russo ..............................................................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Zerohack Zer0pwn Youranonnews Yevgeniy Anikin Yes Men
    Zerohack Zer0Pwn YourAnonNews Yevgeniy Anikin Yes Men YamaTough Xtreme x-Leader xenu xen0nymous www.oem.com.mx www.nytimes.com/pages/world/asia/index.html www.informador.com.mx www.futuregov.asia www.cronica.com.mx www.asiapacificsecuritymagazine.com Worm Wolfy Withdrawal* WillyFoReal Wikileaks IRC 88.80.16.13/9999 IRC Channel WikiLeaks WiiSpellWhy whitekidney Wells Fargo weed WallRoad w0rmware Vulnerability Vladislav Khorokhorin Visa Inc. Virus Virgin Islands "Viewpointe Archive Services, LLC" Versability Verizon Venezuela Vegas Vatican City USB US Trust US Bankcorp Uruguay Uran0n unusedcrayon United Kingdom UnicormCr3w unfittoprint unelected.org UndisclosedAnon Ukraine UGNazi ua_musti_1905 U.S. Bankcorp TYLER Turkey trosec113 Trojan Horse Trojan Trivette TriCk Tribalzer0 Transnistria transaction Traitor traffic court Tradecraft Trade Secrets "Total System Services, Inc." Topiary Top Secret Tom Stracener TibitXimer Thumb Drive Thomson Reuters TheWikiBoat thepeoplescause the_infecti0n The Unknowns The UnderTaker The Syrian electronic army The Jokerhack Thailand ThaCosmo th3j35t3r testeux1 TEST Telecomix TehWongZ Teddy Bigglesworth TeaMp0isoN TeamHav0k Team Ghost Shell Team Digi7al tdl4 taxes TARP tango down Tampa Tammy Shapiro Taiwan Tabu T0x1c t0wN T.A.R.P. Syrian Electronic Army syndiv Symantec Corporation Switzerland Swingers Club SWIFT Sweden Swan SwaggSec Swagg Security "SunGard Data Systems, Inc." Stuxnet Stringer Streamroller Stole* Sterlok SteelAnne st0rm SQLi Spyware Spying Spydevilz Spy Camera Sposed Spook Spoofing Splendide
    [Show full text]
  • Insights Into Sleep's Role for Insight: Studies with the Number Reduction
    REVIEW ARTICLE ADVANCES IN COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY Insights into sleep’s role for insight: Studies with the number reduction task Rolf Verleger1, Michael Rose2, Ullrich Wagner3, Juliana Yordanova1,4, and Vasil Kolev1,4 1 Department of Neurology, University of Lübeck, Germany 2 Department of Systems Neuroscience, University of Hamburg, Germany 3 Charité, University Medicine Berlin, Germany 4 Institute of Neurobiology, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Sofia, Bulgaria ABSTRACT In recent years, vibrant research has developed on “consolidation” during sleep: To what extent are newly experienced impressions reprocessed or even restructured during sleep? We used the number reduction task (NRT) to study if and how sleep does not only reiterate new experiences but may even lead to new insights. In the NRT, covert regularities may speed responses. This implicit acquisition of regularities may become explicitly conscious at some point, leading to a qualitative change in behavior which reflects this insight. By applying the NRT at two consecutive sessions separated by an interval, we investigated the role of sleep in this interval for attaining insight at the second session. In the first study, a night of sleep was shown to triple the number of participants attaining insight above the base rate of about 20%. In the second study, this hard core of 20% discoverers differed from other participants in their task-related EEG potentials from the KEYWORDS very beginning already. In the third study, the additional role of sleep was specified as an effect of the deep-sleep phase of slow-wave sleep on participants who had implicitly acquired the covert sleep, insight, regularity before sleep.
    [Show full text]
  • Sleep and Dreaming Are for Important Matters
    REVIEW ARTICLE published: 25 July 2013 doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00474 Sleep and dreaming are for important matters L. Perogamvros 1,2,3* , T. T. Da n g - Vu 4, M. Desseilles 5,6 and S. Schwartz 2,3 1 Sleep Laboratory, Division of Neuropsychiatry, Department of Psychiatry, University Hospitals of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland 2 Department of Neuroscience, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland 3 Swiss Center for Affective Sciences, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland 4 Department of Exercise Science, Center for Studies in Behavioral Neurobiology, Concordia University, Montreal, QC, Canada 5 Department of Psychology, University of Namur Medical School, Namur, Belgium 6 Alexian Brother Psychiatry Clinic, Henri-Chapelle, Belgium Edited by: Recent studies in sleep and dreaming have described an activation of emotional and Jennifer M. Windt, Johannes reward systems, as well as the processing of internal information during these states. Gutenberg-University of Mainz, Specifically, increased activity in the amygdala and across mesolimbic dopaminergic Germany regions during REM sleep is likely to promote the consolidation of memory traces Reviewed by: Erin J. Wamsley, Harvard Medical with high emotional/motivational value. Moreover, coordinated hippocampal-striatal replay School, USA during NREM sleep may contribute to the selective strengthening of memories Edward F. Pace-Schott, Harvard for important events. In this review, we suggest that, via the activation of Medical School, USA emotional/motivational circuits, sleep and dreaming may offer a neurobehavioral substrate *Correspondence: for the offline reprocessing of emotions, associative learning, and exploratory behaviors, L. Perogamvros, Sleep Laboratory, Division of Neuropsychiatry, resulting in improved memory organization, waking emotion regulation, social skills, Department of Psychiatry, University and creativity.
    [Show full text]
  • OR Ultra-Lite, Frogg Toggs Or a Cheap One: Disposable Rain Poncho
    Get Home Bag (updated 6/7/19): Priorities: Water, Food, Shelter, Security, Communication, Mobility. Everything serves multiple purposes. If you never need this stuff, that would be fantastic/ideal! If you might or do need it, it’ll be extremely valuable. Right? -Backpack – w padded shoulder straps & waistband, pockets, ordinary looking, from Walmart $10 or thrift store. (Conceal your backpack in a dry cleaner’s drop off bag w label visible. Thieves don’t want dirty clothes!) -Victorinox Swiss Army knife - Small, Classic style w scissors & tweezers -Victorinox Swiss Army knife - Large, locking blade, with wood & metal saw cutting blades, OR -Gerber multi-plier tool with a saw blades -Fixed blade knife w sawback blade; scabbard wrapped w mil-spec 550 paracord (Glock knife ~$30) -Pepper spray (2x; primary & backup; not expired) -Whistle (cheap referee’s whistle is fine) -Self defense. Your decision. Be proficient. -Surveyor’s tape - 10-20’ bright colored for signaling, marking, backtracking, way finding, alerting others -Duct tape (condensed, small roll, first aid, repairs, signaling, etc.) -Maps - folding state map to see alternate routes incl train tracks; navigation, fire starter, leave messages, note taking -Compass (for cross country walking to shorten distance between points) -Paper, wooden pencil (won’t fail, shavings for fire starter, etc.) -Pamphlets: Survival, First Aid, Edible Plants, etc -Fish hooks with nylon leaders in original packaging (fishing, security perimeter, etc.) -Bug spray (w DEET), sunscreen tube, Chapstick -LED flashlight, hand crank flashlight & LED headlamp (w red & white bulbs) -1” metal jingle bell(s) & 100’ fishing line for security perimeter for nighttime sleeping, and for fishing! -First aid (antibiotic, gauze, soap, band aids, moleskin; Advil, benadryl, chewable aspirin 4 heart attack victims).
    [Show full text]
  • Do Both Psychopathology and Creativity Result from a Labile Wake-Sleep-Dream Cycle?
    DO BOTH PSYCHOPATHOLOGY AND CREATIVITY RESULT FROM A LABILE WAKE-SLEEP-DREAM CYCLE? EDITED BY : Sue Llewellyn and Martin Desseilles PUBLISHED IN : Frontiers in Psychology Frontiers Copyright Statement About Frontiers © Copyright 2007-2017 Frontiers Media SA. All rights reserved. Frontiers is more than just an open-access publisher of scholarly articles: it is a pioneering All content included on this site, approach to the world of academia, radically improving the way scholarly research such as text, graphics, logos, button icons, images, video/audio clips, is managed. The grand vision of Frontiers is a world where all people have an equal downloads, data compilations and software, is the property of or is opportunity to seek, share and generate knowledge. Frontiers provides immediate and licensed to Frontiers Media SA permanent online open access to all its publications, but this alone is not enough to (“Frontiers”) or its licensees and/or subcontractors. The copyright in the realize our grand goals. text of individual articles is the property of their respective authors, subject to a license granted to Frontiers. Frontiers Journal Series The compilation of articles constituting The Frontiers Journal Series is a multi-tier and interdisciplinary set of open-access, online this e-book, wherever published, as well as the compilation of all other journals, promising a paradigm shift from the current review, selection and dissemination content on this site, is the exclusive processes in academic publishing. All Frontiers journals are driven by researchers for property of Frontiers. For the conditions for downloading and researchers; therefore, they constitute a service to the scholarly community.
    [Show full text]
  • CNB Annual Meeting 2020
    Group 1 - Sleep Keywords: Thalamus, sleep, stroke, cognition Thalamic stroke effects on sleep-wake regulation and cognition The Irene Lenzi1,2, Micaela Borsa1,2, Thomas Rusterholz1,2, Christina Czekus1,2, Carolina Gutierrez Herrera1,2 1Neurology; 2University of Bern The structure and dynamics of neural systems regulating arousal and cognition remain partially understood. An increased knowledge about this neuronal network, and its central thalamic hub, might lead to insights for treating neurological and consciousness' disorders. Thalamic strokes usually lead to these dysfunctions that are debilitating and, in many cases, long lasting. Among thalamic infarcts, the paramedian stroke accounts for about 35% of the cases, and its symptomatology includes hypersomnia accompanied by altered non-REM (NREM) sleep, and cognitive impairments. Hermann et al. (2008) observed that in patients with paramedian stroke hypersomnia was related to poor clinical outcome, which in turn was associated with persistent deficits in attention. This observation led to the hypothesis that sleep and cognition are related functions, possibly sharing a common neuronal network modulating them both. The present study aimed to characterize the sleep- and cognitive-related phenotypes resulting from lesions of different thalamic nuclei. Here, we used a model of targeted mini-stroke obtained via induction of photothrombotic lesions in the CMT territory (Braeuninger & Kleinschnitz, 2009). In parallel, EEG/EMG recordings were used to characterize the evolution of sleep parameters and sleep oscillations over the entire period between pre- and post- stroke induction, in both lesioned and sham animals. Behavioral changes were measured via the open field test (OFT), forced alternation task in the Y-maze (YM) and pain sensitivity test assessing the foot-shocks sensory threshold, in both groups of animals.
    [Show full text]
  • THE NARRATIVE of DREAM REPORTS PART 1 a Thesis Submitted for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy by Mark Thomas Blagrove Departme
    THE NARRATIVE OF DREAM REPORTS PART 1 A Thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy by Mark Thomas Blagrove Department of Human Sciences, Brunel University March 1989 BRUNEL UNIVERSITY, UXBRIDGE. DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SCIENCES MARK THOMAS BLAGROVE THE NARRATIVE OF DREAM REPORTS (1989) Two questions are addressed: 1) whether a dream is meaningful as a whole, or whether the scenes are separate and unconnected, and 2) whether dream images are an epiphenomenon of a functional physiologicaL process of REM sleep, or whether they are akin to waking thought. Theories of REM sleep as a period of information-processing are reviewed. This is Linked with work on the reLationship between dreaming and creativity, and between memory and imagery. Because of the persuasive evidence that REM sleep is implicated in the consolidation of memories there is a review of recent work on neuraL associative network models of memory. Two theories of dreams based on these models are described, and predictions with regard to the above two questions are made. PsychoLogicaL evidence of relevance to the neural network theories is extensively reviewed. These predictions are compared with those of the recent application of structuralism to the study of dreams, which is an extension from its usual field of mythology and anthropology. The different theories are tested against four nights of dreams recorded in a sleep Lab. The analysis shows that not only do dreams concretise waking concerns as metaphors but that these concerns are depicted in oppositionaL terms, such as, for example, inside/outside or revolving/static. These oppositions are then permuted from one dream to the next until a resolution of the initial concern is achieved at the end of the night.
    [Show full text]
  • Dreams and Well-Being
    i Dreams and Well-Being Susan A. Gilchrist July 2013 Submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Human Sciences) at the University of Tasmania ii Statement of originality I declare that this thesis is my own work and that, to the best of my knowledge and belief, it does not contain material from published sources without proper acknowledgement, nor does it contain material which has been accepted for the award of any other higher degree or graduate diploma in any university. signed: ____________________________ Sue Gilchrist, July, 2013 This thesis may be made available for loan and limited copying in accordance with the Copyright Act, 1968. Signed: ______________________________ Sue Gilchrist, July 2013 iii Contents Acknowledgements vii Papers, conference presentations and other presentations emanating from the research viii List of Tables ix Abstract 1 Introduction 3 Chapter 1. Literature on Dreaming 6 Defining dreams 6 Functions of dreams in relation to well-being 7 Function of dreams 7 Well-being 19 Emotion in dreams 23 Themes in dreams 25 Working with dreams 27 Chapter 2. Dream Emotions, Waking Emotions, Personality Characteristics And Well-being: A positive psychology approach. 28 Dream emotions, personality characteristics and well-being research 28 Dreaming and Waking emotions 31 First Study – Hypotheses 33 Method 34 Participants 34 iv Materials 35 Procedure 38 Results 39 Discussion 47 Conclusion 51 Chapter 3. Intra-Individual Relationships between Waking and Dream Emotions 53 Literature Review 53 Second Study - Method 57 Participants 57 Materials 58 Procedure 58 Results 58 Discussion 64 Conclusion 66 Chapter 4. Approaching Therapeutic Dreamwork 69 Defining Dreamwork 70 Psychoanalytical – Freudian 73 Jungian 73 Gestalt 74 Behavioural Therapy 75 Lucid dreaming 76 v Imagery Rehearsal Therapy 77 Hypnotherapy – pre-sleep instructions 77 Dreamwork group facilitation 79 Group roles 81 Communication 81 Participant safety 82 Ethics in dreamwork 83 Chapter 5.
    [Show full text]
  • The Sleeping Brain (PSY414)
    The Sleeping Brain (PSY414) Tuesday/Thursday 1:00-2:15pm Dr. Erin Wamsley - [email protected] Drop-In Office Hours: Monday 10:00am-11:00am, Tuesday 2:30-3:30pm, or make an appointment Course Description “If sleep does not serve an absolutely vital function, then it is the biggest mistake the evolutionary process ever made.” - Allan Rechtschaffen1 We spend about a third of our lives sleeping. But why? Surprisingly, we still don’t know the answer to this question. In this course, we will read and discuss a variety of theories of the function of sleep, with a particular focus on cognitive functions of sleep and dreaming, including memory consolidation, problem-solving, creativity, and synaptic homeostasis. Readings blur the disciplinary boundaries of physiology, psychology, and neuroscience. In parallel with our discussions of the research literature, we will work together to conduct a study testing one theory of sleep function: that sleep is necessary for consolidating memory. The course will culminate as students complete a final paper addressing the question “why do we sleep?”, now armed with scientific evidence to support their developing views. Course Objectives: 1. To explore and evaluate current theories of the function of sleep 2. To become more informed consumers of scientific literature in general 3. To understand current challenges in the practice of scientific research 4. To develop critical thinking skills as applied to interpreting scientific studies Course Structure and Requirements Format of the Class The class meets twice a week. We will be splitting our time between reviewing and discussing scientific research (typically on Tuesday of each week), and working together on a research project (typically on Thursday of each week).
    [Show full text]