Cited by 558Sleep and Wakefulness ResearchMemory and Neural MechanismsMemory Processes and Influences

Early sleep triggers memory for early visual discrimination skills

Gais, Steffen, Plihal, Werner, Wagner, Ullrich, Born, Jan·2000·Nature Neuroscience

Abstract

Improvement after practicing visual texture discrimination does not occur until several hours after practice has ended. We show that this improvement strongly depends on sleep. To specify the process responsible for sleep-related improvement, we compared the effects of 'early' and 'late' sleep, dominated respectively by slow-wave and rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. Discrimination skills significantly improved over early sleep, improved even more over a whole night's sleep, but did not improve after late sleep alone. These findings suggest that procedural memory formation is prompted by slow-wave sleep-related processes. Late REM sleep may promote memory formation at a second stage, only after periods of early sleep have occurred.

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Crossref · 10.1038/81881

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  • Greatest improvement in texture discrimination thresholds occurs after a whole night of sleep containing both early SWS-rich and late REM-rich sleep; early SWS-rich sleep alone has intermediate effects; REM-rich late sleep alone is completely ineffective.

    “Similarly, studies adopting the night-half paradigm revealed the greatest improvement in texture discrimination thresholds after a whole night of sleep contained both early SWS-rich and late REM-rich sleep, whereas early SWS-rich sleep per se had only intermediate effects, and REM-rich late sleep was completely ineffective (433).”

    From About Sleep's Role in Memory (2013) · cites this paper as [433]

  • Procedural tasks like visuomotor adaptation and visual texture discrimination also benefit from SWS.

    “The hypothesis has been challenged by findings showing that procedural tasks like visuomotor adaptation and visual texture discrimination also benefit from SWS (10,433,581,582).”

    From About Sleep's Role in Memory (2013) · cites this paper as [433]

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Authors
Gais, S., Plihal, W., Wagner, U., & Born, J.
Affiliations
University of Lübeck (DE)
Venue
Nature Neuroscience
Published
2000-12
Volume
3
Issue
12
Pages
1335-1339
ISSN
  • 1097-6256 (ISSN-L)
  • 1546-1726
OpenAlex
W1590431286
Cited by
558
References
40
Citations by year
2026: 2 · 2025: 9 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 28 · 2022: 9 · 2021: 12 · 2020: 18 · 2019: 23 · 2018: 9 · 2017: 27 · 2016: 16 · 2015: 18 · 2014: 37 · 2013: 22 · 2012: 33
FWCI
14.46
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Locations
  • Nature Neuroscience (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft
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, procedural memory, slow-wave sleep, REM sleep, motor skill learning
MeSH terms
Adult, Circadian Rhythm, Discrimination Learning, Humans, Memory, Neuropsychological Tests, Pattern Recognition, Visual, Photic Stimulation, Psychomotor Performance, Sleep, Sleep Deprivation, Sleep, REM

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