Sleep on it: cortical reorganization after-the-fact

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Trends in Neurosciences
Volume 25, Issue 1, 1 January 2002, Pages 1-2

doi:10.1016/S0166-2236(00)02005-1
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Copyright © 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Research update

Sleep on it: cortical reorganization after-the-fact

Kari L. HoffmanE-mail The Corresponding Author and Bruce L. McNaughton

ARL Division of Neural Systems, Memory and Aging, University of Arizona, 384 Life Sciences North, Tucson, AZ 85719, USA

Available online 14 January 2002.

Abstract

Sleep can facilitate memory formation, but its role in cortical plasticity is poorly understood. A recent study found that sleep, following monocular deprivation (MD), facilitated cortical changes in ocular dominance. The magnitude of plasticity was similar to that observed after continued MD, and larger than that seen after sleep deprivation in darkness, suggesting that sleep per se enables mechanisms of cortical plasticity. Experience-dependent plasticity during sleep could be part of a more global process of memory consolidation.

Author Keywords: memory consolidation; reactivation; plasticity; REM sleep; ensemble recording

Subject-index terms: Neuroscience; Cognitive Science

Article Outline
• Future directions
• Acknowledgements
• References