Category: Science & Technology

by Jon Hamilton - NPR.org Decades of research suggest that sleep is a time when the brain processes things it has learned, and this latest study found we can influence which memories the brain strengthens during sleep. You may not be able to learn a foreign language in your sleep, but you can strengthen certain memories, according to a study in the journal Science

The study, led by researchers at Northwestern University, found that hearing certain sounds during a nap helped people remember information associated with those sounds once they woke up.

"They were a little bit better, a little more accurate," says John Rudoy, a graduate student at Northwestern and the study's lead author.

The study builds on decades of research suggesting that sleep is a time when the brain processes things it has learned, Rudoy says.

"When you take a nap or have a full night's sleep after learning something, you're actually better at it the morning after," he says.

Memorizing Images
Rudoy and a team of researchers thought it might be possible to influence which memories the brain strengthened during sleep. So they recruited a dozen volunteers and taught them to play a special game on the computer...More...

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