Memory Accuracy and Strength Can Be Manipulated During Sleep

The sense of smell is one of the first things to fail in neurodegenerative disorders, such as Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease. Researchers from  NYU Langone Medical Center believe that, if more can be learned from better understanding of how the brain processes odors, it could lead to novel therapies that target specific neurons in the brain, perhaps enhancing memory consolidation and memory accuracy. According to an animal study reported online in the Journal of Neuroscience, odor memory in rats was strengthened when odors sensed the previous day were replayed during slow-wave sleep. Moreover, memories deepened more when odor reinforcement occurred during sleep than when the rats were awake. However, it was also possible to create false memories and impair memory accuracy during sleep. “Our findings confirm the importance of brain activity during sleep for both memory strength and accuracy,” says Donald A. Wilson, PhD, the study’s senior author. To read more about the study, click here.