Sleep states and learning: A review of the animal literature
Abstract
Animal studies are examined in relation to the sleep-learning hypothesis. It is concluded that the data best support the idea of special periods of paradoxical sleep (PS) within the 24 hour period which are specifically involved with the learning process. The onset and duration of these PS "windows" varies with strain of animal, type of task and number of training trials per session. Alternative explanations and theories are considered.
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In animals, REM sleep is consistently associated with strengthening of conditioned fear memories.
“In animals, REM sleep has been consistently associated with a strengthening of conditioned fear memories (see sect.IIB; for reviews, see, e.g., Refs. 538, 807, 1092Refs. 538, 807, , 1094)).”
From About Sleep's Role in Memory (2013) · cites this paper as [1092]
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Self-citation
- Authors
- Smith, C.
- Affiliations
- Trent University (CA)
- Corresponding author
- Smith, Carlyle
- ORCID
- Smith, Carlyle
- Venue
- Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 1985
- Volume
- 9
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 157-168
- ISSN
- 0149-7634 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2025906954
- Cited by
- 298
- References
- 11
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 3 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 4 · 2022: 1 · 2021: 4 · 2020: 4 · 2019: 7 · 2018: 4 · 2017: 5 · 2016: 7 · 2015: 10 · 2014: 10 · 2013: 7 · 2012: 4
- FWCI
- 3.54
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Sleep and Wakefulness Research
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Memory and Neural Mechanisms
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Sleep and related disorders
- Keywords
- REM sleep, sleep states, learning, circadian rhythm
- MeSH terms
- Animals, Avoidance Learning, Cats, Electroshock, Environment, Learning, Mice, Inbred C57BL, Mice, Inbred Strains, Psychological Theory, Rabbits, Sleep, Sleep Deprivation, Sleep Stages, Sleep, REM, Species Specificity, Time Factors, Mice, Rats
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