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Cited by 93Sleep and Wakefulness ResearchLanguage Development and DisordersReading and Literacy Development

Consolidation of vocabulary during sleep: The rich get richer?

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James, Emma, Gaskell, M. Gareth, Weighall, Anna, Henderson, Lisa·2017·Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews
DOI 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2017.01.054
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Abstract

Sleep plays a role in strengthening new words and integrating them with existing vocabulary knowledge, consistent with neural models of learning in which sleep supports hippocampal transfer to neocortical memory. Such models are based on adult research, yet neural maturation may mean that the mechanisms supporting word learning vary across development. Here, we propose a model in which children may capitalise on larger amounts of slow-wave sleep to support a greater demand on learning and neural reorganisation, whereas adults may benefit from a richer knowledge base to support consolidation. Such an argument is reinforced by the well-reported "Matthew effect", whereby rich vocabulary knowledge is associated with better acquisition of new vocabulary. We present a meta-analysis that supports this association between children's existing vocabulary knowledge and their integration of new words overnight. Whilst multiple mechanisms likely contribute to vocabulary consolidation and neural reorganisation across the lifespan, we propose that contributions of existing knowledge should be rigorously examined in developmental studies. Such research has potential to greatly enhance neural models of learning.

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  • Sleep's role in procedural memory consolidation in children is less robust than its role in declarative memory.

    “While the role of sleep in procedural memory consolidation in children remains less robust compared to declarative memory, findings suggest potential but inconsistent benefits.”

    From Sleep and memory consolidation in healthy, neurotypical children, and adults: a summary of systematic reviews and meta-analyses. (2023) · cites this paper as [31]

    Section 3.2 reports sleep-related benefits for children's declarative memory and improved explicit recall after sleep from an implicitly learned motor sequence. The References section lists a study titled “Sleep in children improves memory performance on declarative but not procedural tasks,” but the review does not itself assess how robust procedural consolidation is relative to declarative consolidation across children. Its motor-task example concerns extraction of explicit knowledge, not improved procedural performance. (LLM, conf=0.78)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • Similar findings (sleep aiding assimilation of new linguistic information) are observed with school-aged children.

    “Similar findings are observed with school-aged children [31]”

    From Sleep and memory consolidation in healthy, neurotypical children, and adults: a summary of systematic reviews and meta-analyses. (2023) · cites this paper as [31]

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Research works printed but not linked: 34

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Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
James, E., Gaskell, M. G., Weighall, A., & Henderson, L.
Affiliations
  • University of York (GB)
  • University of Leeds (GB)
Corresponding author
Henderson, Lisa
ORCID
Venue
Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2017-06
Volume
77
Pages
1-13
ISSN
0149-7634 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1016/j.neubiorev.2017.01.054
OpenAlex
W2592353186
Cited by
93
References
18
Citations by year
2026: 2 · 2025: 7 · 2024: 17 · 2023: 9 · 2022: 19 · 2021: 17 · 2020: 5 · 2019: 8 · 2018: 5 · 2017: 4
FWCI
0.67
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
www.elsevier.com/tdm/userlicense/1.0/ (tdm)
Locations
  • Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • White Rose Research Online (University of Leeds, The University of Sheffield, University of York) (acceptedVersion)
Funders
  • Leverhulme Trust
  • Economic and Social Research Council (ES/N009924/1)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Sleep and Wakefulness Research
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Language Development and Disorders
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Reading and Literacy Development
Keywords
vocabulary consolidation, sleep, slow-wave sleep, word learning, prior knowledge, Matthew effect, children, adults, lifespan development
MeSH terms
Humans, Learning, Memory, Sleep, Vocabulary, Knowledge

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