Lutz, N.D.* ; Martínez-Albert, E.* ; Friedrich, H.* ; Born, J. ; Besedovsky, L.*
Sleep shapes the associative structure underlying pattern completion in multielement event memory.
Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 121, 9:e2314423121 (2024)
Sleep supports the consolidation of episodic memory. It is, however, a matter of ongoing debate how this effect is established, because, so far, it has been demonstrated almost exclusively for simple associations, which lack the complex associative structure of real-life events, typically comprising multiple elements with different association strengths. Because of this associative structure interlinking the individual elements, a partial cue (e.g., a single element) can recover an entire multielement event. This process, referred to as pattern completion, is a fundamental property of episodic memory. Yet, it is currently unknown how sleep affects the associative structure within multielement events and subsequent processes of pattern completion. Here, we investigated the effects of post-encoding sleep, compared with a period of nocturnal wakefulness (followed by a recovery night), on multielement associative structures in healthy humans using a verbal associative learning task including strongly, weakly, and not directly encoded associations. We demonstrate that sleep selectively benefits memory for weakly associated elements as well as for associations that were not directly encoded but not for strongly associated elements within a multielement event structure. Crucially, these effects were accompanied by a beneficial effect of sleep on the ability to recall multiple elements of an event based on a single common cue. In addition, retrieval performance was predicted by sleep spindle activity during post-encoding sleep. Together, these results indicate that sleep plays a fundamental role in shaping associative structures, thereby supporting pattern completion in complex multielement events.
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Article: Journal article
Document type
Scientific Article
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Keywords
Consolidation ; Episodic Memory ; Pattern Completion ; Retrieval ; Sleep; Separation; Reactivation; Consolidation; Hippocampal; Software; Promotes; Benefits; Time
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Language
english
Publication Year
2024
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0
HGF-reported in Year
2024
ISSN (print) / ISBN
0027-8424
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1091-6490
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Volume: 121,
Issue: 9,
Pages: 9,
Article Number: e2314423121
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National Academy of Sciences
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2101 Constitution Ave Nw, Washington, Dc 20418 Usa
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Peer reviewed
POF-Topic(s)
90000 - German Center for Diabetes Research
Research field(s)
Helmholtz Diabetes Center
PSP Element(s)
G-502400-001
Grants
Fortune program of the University of Tuebingen
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Erfassungsdatum
2024-04-25