Cited by 197Sleep and Wakefulness ResearchMemory and Neural MechanismsMemory Processes and Influences

Sleep-dependent consolidation of statistical learning.

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Durrant, Simon J., Taylor, Charlotte, Cairney, Scott, Lewis, Penelope A.·2011·Neuropsychologia

Abstract

The importance of sleep for memory consolidation has been firmly established over the past decade. Recent work has extended this by suggesting that sleep is also critical for the integration of disparate fragments of information into a unified schema, and for the abstraction of underlying rules. The question of which aspects of sleep play a significant role in integration and abstraction is, however, currently unresolved. Here, we examined the role of sleep in abstraction of the implicit probabilistic structure in sequential stimuli using a statistical learning paradigm, and tested for its role in such abstraction by searching for a predictive relationship between the type of sleep obtained and subsequent performance improvements using polysomnography. In our experiments, participants were exposed to a series of tones in a probabilistically determined sequential structure, and subsequently tested for recognition of novel short sequences adhering to this same statistical pattern in both immediate- and delayed-recall sessions. Participants who consolidated over a night of sleep improved significantly more than those who consolidated over an equivalent period of daytime wakefulness. Similarly, participants who consolidated across a 4-h afternoon delay containing a nap improved significantly more than those who consolidated across an equivalent period without a nap. Importantly, polysomnography revealed a significant correlation between the level of improvement and the amount of slow-wave sleep obtained. We also found evidence of a time-based consolidation process which operates alongside sleep-specific consolidation. These results demonstrate that abstraction of statistical patterns benefits from sleep, and provide the first clear support for the role of slow-wave sleep in this consolidation.

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Crossref · 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2011.02.015

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79 of 79 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

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  • Sleep not only quantitatively strengthens memory, but also qualitatively transforms past memory traces in a way that may help respond to similar events in the future.

    “Yet critically, sleep not only quantitatively strengthens memory, but also qualitatively transforms past memory traces in a way that may help us respond to similar events in the future.”

    From Constructive episodic simulation in dreams (2022) · cites this paper as [19]

  • In adults performing a statistical learning task, sleep promotes abstraction of probabilistic regularities in tone sequences, associated with increased SWS during postlearning sleep.

    “Similarly, in adults performing on a statistical learning task, sleep promoted the abstraction of probabilistic regularities in tone sequences, with this effect being associated with increased SWS during postlearning sleep (337).”

    From About Sleep's Role in Memory (2013) · cites this paper as [337]

  • Sleep-enhancing effect of statistical learning is accompanied by a shift in brain activation from medial temporal lobe to striatum.

    “Similarly, the sleep-enhancing effect of statistical learning (337) was accompanied by a shift in brain activation from the medial temporal lobe to the striatum (336).”

    From About Sleep's Role in Memory (2013) · cites this paper as [337]

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Authors
Durrant, S. J., Taylor, C., Cairney, S., & Lewis, P. A.
Affiliations
University of Manchester (GB)
Corresponding author
Durrant, Simon J.
Venue
Neuropsychologia
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2011-04
Volume
49
Issue
5
Pages
1322-1331
ISSN
0028-3932 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W1989151906
Cited by
197
References
79
Citations by year
2026: 5 · 2025: 15 · 2024: 13 · 2023: 10 · 2022: 12 · 2021: 22 · 2020: 13 · 2019: 11 · 2018: 11 · 2017: 17 · 2016: 14 · 2015: 13 · 2014: 18 · 2013: 13 · 2012: 8
FWCI
6.65
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Neuropsychologia (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Research Explorer (The University of Manchester) (publishedVersion)
  • Lincoln Repository (University of Lincoln) (acceptedVersion)
  • Figshare (submittedVersion, cc-by)
  • ORCA Online Research @Cardiff (Cardiff University) (submittedVersion)
Funders
Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BB/F003048/1)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Sleep and Wakefulness Research
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Memory and Neural Mechanisms
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Memory Processes and Influences
Keywords
sleep-dependent memory consolidation, statistical learning, slow-wave sleep, probabilistic structure, sequence recognition, napping, polysomnography, implicit learning, schema integration
MeSH terms
Acoustic Stimulation, Adult, Analysis of Variance, Female, Humans, Male, Memory, Probability, Reaction Time, Serial Learning, Sleep, Time Factors, Polysomnography, Young Adult

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