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Cited by 334Sleep and Wakefulness ResearchMemory and Neural MechanismsMotor Control and Adaptation

Sleep-dependent learning and motor-skill complexity

Open access
Kuriyama, Kenichi, Stickgold, Robert, Walker, Matthew P.·2004·Learning & Memory
DOI 10.1101/lm.76304PMC PMC534699
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Abstract

Learning of a procedural motor-skill task is known to progress through a series of unique memory stages. Performance initially improves during training, and continues to improve, without further rehearsal, across subsequent periods of sleep. Here, we investigate how this delayed sleep-dependent learning is affected when the task characteristics are varied across several degrees of difficulty, and whether this improvement differentially enhances individual transitions of the motor-sequence pattern being learned. We report that subjects show similar overnight improvements in speed whether learning a five-element unimanual sequence (17.7% improvement), a nine-element unimanual sequence (20.2%), or a five-element bimanual sequence (17.5%), but show markedly increased overnight improvement (28.9%) with a nine-element bimanual sequence. In addition, individual transitions within the motor-sequence pattern that appeared most difficult at the end of training showed a significant 17.8% increase in speed overnight, whereas those transitions that were performed most rapidly at the end of training showed only a non-significant 1.4% improvement. Together, these findings suggest that the sleep-dependent learning process selectively provides maximum benefit to motor-skill procedures that proved to be most difficult prior to sleep.

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  • In adults, the level of skill performance at learning modulates sleep-dependent memory consolidation, with benefits from sleep most robust at intermediate performance levels.

    “In adults, the level of skill performance at learning has repeatedly been demonstrated to modulate sleep-dependent memory consolidation, whereby benefits from sleep appeared to be most robust with intermediate performance levels (16,297,679,1151).”

    From About Sleep's Role in Memory (2013) · cites this paper as [679]

    The within-sequence analysis supports the general point that performance before sleep affects overnight improvement, but contradicts the claimed peak at intermediate performance. It reports the largest gains for the slowest, most difficult transitions, while the fastest transitions showed no significant improvement. The Abstract likewise says that procedures most difficult before sleep received the maximum benefit. (LLM, conf=0.88)

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  • Difficulty of encoding and emotionality of encoded events can increase the memory benefit from sleep.

    “Also, difficulty of encoding and emotionality of the encoded events can increase the memory benefit from sleep (Kuriyama, Stickgold, & Walker 2004; Wagner, Hallschmid, Rasch, & Born 2006).”

    From System consolidation of memory during sleep (2012) · cites this paper as Kuriyama, Stickgold, & Walker 2004

  • Sleep after learning preferentially strengthened memory for word stimuli weakened by interference learning or retrieval-induced forgetting or for very difficult motor movements.

    “Contrasting this view, sleep after learning preferentially strengthened memory for word stimuli weakened by interference learning (325, 343) or retrievalinduced forgetting (1) or for very difficult motor movements (679).”

    From About Sleep's Role in Memory (2013) · cites this paper as [679]

  • The prediction that new memories are at greater risk of being erased during sleep contradicts experimental findings pointing towards preferential consolidation of weaker over stronger representations during sleep.

    “This prediction contradicts experimental findings pointing towards the preferential consolidation of weaker over stronger representations during sleep (325,343,344,375,679).”

    From About Sleep's Role in Memory (2013) · cites this paper as [679]

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Authors
Kuriyama, K., Stickgold, R., & Walker, M. P.
Affiliations
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (US)
ORCID
Venue
Learning & Memory
Publisher
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Published
2004-11
Volume
11
Issue
6
Pages
705-713
ISSN
  • 1072-0502 (ISSN-L)
  • 1549-5485
DOI
10.1101/lm.76304
PMC
PMC534699
OpenAlex
W1984912020
Cited by
334
References
41
Citations by year
2026: 2 · 2025: 7 · 2024: 14 · 2023: 10 · 2022: 9 · 2021: 11 · 2020: 13 · 2019: 18 · 2018: 9 · 2017: 25 · 2016: 23 · 2015: 18 · 2014: 23 · 2013: 17 · 2012: 27
Type
posted content
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Learning & Memory (publishedVersion)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
  • National Science Foundation (0121953)
  • National Institutes of Health (MH48,832, MH06,9935)
  • National Institute of Mental Health (R21MH067754, R01MH065292, MH-48832, R03MH069935, MH069935, R01MH048832, MH 65292, MH67754)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Sleep and Wakefulness Research
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Memory and Neural Mechanisms
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Motor Control and Adaptation
Keywords
sleep-dependent learning, motor skill learning, procedural memory, motor sequences, bimanual coordination, task difficulty
MeSH terms
Adolescent, Adult, Female, Humans, Functional Laterality, Learning, Male, Motor Skills, Movement, Sleep

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