State of the art on targeted memory reactivation: sleep your way to enhanced cognition

• Published in: Sleep medicine reviews Vol. 32; pp. 123 - 131
• Main Authors: Schouten, Daphne I, Pereira, Sofia I.R, Tops, Mattie, Louzada, Fernando M
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England 01.04.2017
• Subjects: Brain - physiology; Cognition - physiology; Cues; Electroencephalography; Humans; Learning - physiology; Memory Consolidation - physiology; Neurology; Sleep - physiology; Sleep Medicine; Sleep, REM; NREM 2; slow wave sleep; synaptic homeostasis hypothesis; memory consolidation; SHY; EEG; targeted memory reactivation; NREM; active system consolidation hypothesis; rapid eye movement; SWS; sleep; neuronal replay; non-rapid eye movement; TMR; non-rapid eye movement sleep stage two; REM; cueing; Memory consolidation; Sleep; Targeted memory reactivation; Neuronal replay; Electroencephalography; Synaptic homeostasis hypothesis; Cueing; Rapid eye movement sleep; Slow wave sleep; Active system consolidation hypothesis
• ISSN: 1087-0792; 1532-2955
• DOI: 10.1016/j.smrv.2016.04.002

Summary Targeted memory reactivation is a fairly simple technique that has the potential to influence the course of memory formation through application of cues during sleep. Studies have shown that cueing memory during sleep can lead to either an enhanced or decreased representation of the information encoded in the targeted networks, depending on experimental variations. The effects have been associated with sleep parameters and accompanied by activation of memory related brain areas. The findings suggest a causal role of neuronal replay in memory consolidation and provide evidence for the active system consolidation hypothesis. However, the observed inconsistencies across studies suggest that further research is warranted regarding the underlying neural mechanisms and optimal conditions for the application of targeted memory reactivation. The goal of the present review is to integrate the currently available experimental data and to provide an overview of this technique’s limitations and pitfalls, as well as its potential applications in everyday use and clinical treatment. Exploring the open questions herein identified should lead to insight into safer and more effective ways of adjusting memory representations to better suit individual needs.