Contribution of sleep to learning and memory in humans

Speaker: Dr. Masako Tamaki, Team Leader

Affiliation: RIKEN Cluster for Pioneering Research / Center for Brain Science

Title: Contribution of sleep to learning and memory in humans

Abstract:

Sleep is crucial for the continuity and development of life. Sleep-related problems can alter brain function and cause potentially severe psychological and behavioral consequences. However, the role of sleep in our mind and behavior is far from clear. In this talk, I will first describe how learning is facilitated and stabilized in association with changes in the excitation/inhibition (E/I) ratio during NREM and REM sleep, measured by simultaneous magnetic resonance spectroscopy and polysomnography measurement. I will also show that temporary sleep problem can impair visual plasticity in otherwise healthy adults, by utilizing the well documented phenomenon, the first night effect (FNE), a sleep disturbance that occurs during the first session of sleep experiments. I will then introduce our recent findings on how deep NREM and REM sleep may influence cerebrospinal fluid dynamics and discuss how healthy brain functions may be maintained during sleep in humans.

BIO

After obtaining her PhD at Hiroshima University, Masako Tamaki continued to work on the roles of sleep in learning and dreaming in MGH (US), ATR (Kyoto), and Brown University (US). She started her lab at RIKEN in April 2021 where she aims to elucidate the role of sleep in learning and plasticity using multimodal neuroimaging techniques in humans.