Cited by 2,784Sleep and Wakefulness ResearchMemory and Neural MechanismsMemory Processes and Influences

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 1,367 of the 1,378 references it cites were found in a registry or an index; 356 of the 1,081 sources its claims cite were checked for support.

About Sleep's Role in Memory

Open access
Rasch, Björn, Born, Jan·2013·Physiological Reviews

Abstract

Over more than a century of research has established the fact that sleep benefits the retention of memory. In this review we aim to comprehensively cover the field of “sleep and memory” research by providing a historical perspective on concepts and a discussion of more recent key findings. Whereas initial theories posed a passive role for sleep enhancing memories by protecting them from interfering stimuli, current theories highlight an active role for sleep in which memories undergo a process of system consolidation during sleep. Whereas older research concentrated on the role of rapid-eye-movement (REM) sleep, recent work has revealed the importance of slow-wave sleep (SWS) for memory consolidation and also enlightened some of the underlying electrophysiological, neurochemical, and genetic mechanisms, as well as developmental aspects in these processes. Specifically, newer findings characterize sleep as a brain state optimizing memory consolidation, in opposition to the waking brain being optimized for encoding of memories. Consolidation originates from reactivation of recently encoded neuronal memory representations, which occur during SWS and transform respective representations for integration into long-term memory. Ensuing REM sleep may stabilize transformed memories. While elaborated with respect to hippocampus-dependent memories, the concept of an active redistribution of memory representations from networks serving as temporary store into long-term stores might hold also for non-hippocampus-dependent memory, and even for nonneuronal, i.e., immunological memories, giving rise to the idea that the offline consolidation of memory during sleep represents a principle of long-term memory formation established in quite different physiological systems.

Overview

AI snapshot

Written from a shortened version of the paper’s full text (it is longer than we read).

TL;DR

This review argues that sleep does more than passively protect memories from interference; it actively consolidates them through reactivation and redistribution, especially during slow-wave sleep. It integrates behavioral, electrophysiological, neurochemical, genetic, developmental, and immunological evidence, and suggests long-term memory formation may be a general function of sleep across physiological systems.

Key findings

  • The field has moved from passive interference-protection accounts to an active system-consolidation model in which newly encoded representations are reactivated during SWS and gradually redistributed from temporary to long-term stores, with REM sleep possibly stabilizing transformed memories.
  • Animal and human studies show memory reactivation during sleep: hippocampal place-cell replay during SWS is time-compressed by roughly 10–20 times and often strongest in the first 20–40 min after learning; cueing memories during SWS can improve later recall, whereas reactivation during wakefulness can destabilize memories.
  • Sleep-specific oscillations—cortical slow oscillations, thalamo-cortical spindles, and hippocampal sharp-wave ripples—interact in a temporally coordinated way; for example, 0.75-Hz slow-oscillation tDCS during early non-REM sleep improved word-pair retention, while 5-Hz theta tDCS impaired it.
  • The review extends the consolidation idea to immunological memory: sleep after hepatitis vaccination doubled antigen-specific antibody titers and antigen-specific Th cells, and SWS/SWA correlated with antigen-specific Th cells at r = 0.72 after 18–20 weeks and r = 0.94 after 1 year.

Methods

  • Narrative review synthesizing more than a century of research across animal and human studies, rather than a systematic review or meta-analysis.
  • Covers behavioral paradigms such as night-half sleep, selective sleep deprivation, nap studies, and cueing; electrophysiological and imaging methods including EEG, fMRI, PET, and rodent unit recordings; and pharmacological, genetic, developmental, and immune studies.
  • No new primary data are reported; figures and conclusions are drawn from previously published experiments and some unpublished observations.

Limitations

  • The authors state they may have missed or overlooked aspects because of the field’s rapid growth.
  • The text repeatedly notes unresolved issues: mechanisms selecting which memories are consolidated remain unclear; a causal role for spindles has not been demonstrated; REM-sleep reactivation evidence is ambiguous; direct genetic evidence for sleep-dependent memory consolidation in humans is lacking; and links between reactivation and dreaming are not convincingly established.
  • Evident from the review’s design: it is broad and selective rather than systematic, many cited findings are correlational, and some paradigms carry confounds such as stress, circadian timing, or prior sleep.

Model-written summary. Check it against the paper before relying on it.

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1152/physrev.00032.2012

Cites

1367 of 1367 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Nothing to recompute.

Verification

Claims the paper makes

356 of 1081 cited sources checked · 174 supported · 16 flagged · accuracy not yet measured

Show all 445 claims

  • It may state two separate claims as one. 230
  • Probably not a substantial claim. 35
  • The quote only partly states this claim. 2
255 of 255
  • The authors state this as an assumption.

    The waking brain is optimized for acute processing of external stimuli involving encoding and retrieval, while the sleeping brain provides optimal conditions for consolidation processes that integrate newly encoded memory into a long-term store.

    “We assume that whereas the waking brain is optimized for the acute processing of external stimuli that involves the encoding of new information and memory retrieval, the sleeping brain provides optimal conditions for consolidation processes that integrate newly encoded memory into a long-term store.”
  • The authors state this as an assumption.

    Memories are initially encoded into a fast learning store (the hippocampus in the declarative memory system) and then gradually transferred to a slow learning store for long-term storage (the neocortex).

    “It assumes that memories are initially encoded into a fast learning store (i.e., the hippocampus in the declarative memory system) and then gradually transferred to a slow learning store for long-term storage (i.e., the neocortex).”
  • The authors state this as an assumption.

    By repeated reactivation of new memories during off-line periods like sleep, the slowly learning long-term store is trained and the new memories are gradually strengthened and adapted to preexisting long-term memories.

    “It is assumed that by the repeated reactivation of the new memories during off-line periods like sleep, the slowly learning long-term store is trained and the new memories are gradually strengthened and adapted to preexisting long-term memories.”
  • The authors state this as an assumption.

    REM sleep after an aversive emotional experience strengthens the content of the respective representations in memory but simultaneously reduces the emotional tone associated with this memory.

    “The SFSR hypothesis assumes that REM sleep after an (aversive) emotional experience strengthens the content of the respective representations in memory, but simultaneously reduces the emotional tone associated with this memory, i.e., reduces the emotional response when the memory is retrieved.”
  • The authors state this as an assumption.

    Different sleep stages serve the consolidation of different types of memories.

    “The dual processes hypothesis assumes that different sleep stages serve the consolidation of different types of memories (428, 765, 967, 1096).”
  • The authors state this as an assumption.

    Declarative memory profits from SWS, whereas the consolidation of nondeclarative memory is supported by REM sleep.

    “Specifically, it has been assumed that declarative memory profits from SWS, whereas the consolidation of nondeclarative memory is supported by REM sleep.”
  • The authors state this as an assumption.

    In a first processing step during SWS, nonadaptive memories are weakened and adaptive responses are strengthened, whereas during a second processing step during REM sleep, adaptive memories are integrated and stored in preexisting knowledge networks.

    “The sequential hypothesis originally assumed that in a first processing step during SWS, nonadaptive memories were weakened and adaptive responses were strengthened, whereas during the second processing step during REM sleep, the adaptive memories would be integrated and stored in preexisting knowledge networks (23,460,461).”
  • The authors state this as an assumption.

    During wakefulness, the various aspects of an experienced episode are encoded into cortical networks with the different parts of the new memory representation bound together by areas in the medial temporal lobe, especially the hippocampus.

    “Basically, the model assumes that during wakefulness the various aspects of an experienced episode are encoded into cortical networks with the different parts of the new memory representation bound together by areas in the medial temporal lobe, especially the hippocampus.”
  • The authors state this as an assumption.

    During sleep, reactivation of episodic memory originating from hippocampal networks activates the different memory parts at the cortical level, successively strengthening cortico-cortical connections and transforming temporary representations into long-term memories.

    “During sleep, reactivation of the episodic memory originating from hippocampal networks results in the activation of the different memory parts also at the cortical level, thereby successively strengthening cortico-cortical connections and transforming the temporary representations into long-term memories (158).”
  • The authors state this as an assumption.

    Because resources for strengthening synaptic connections are less available during SWS, reactivations during SWS might only tag involved cortical synapses for later strengthening during subsequent REM sleep.

    “Because resources for the strengthening of synaptic connections are less available during SWS, reactivations during SWS might only tag the involved cortical synapses for later strengthening during subsequent REM sleep, in accordance with the sequential hypothesis (989).”
  • The authors state this as an assumption.

    Memories are reactivated during the consolidation phase.

    “The assumption that memories are reactivated during the consolidation phase is an integral part of standard consolidation theory as well as of the “active system consolidation” view of the memory function of sleep (418, 780, 800) (see sect.IIF).”
  • The authors state this as an assumption.

    Wakefulness in general is a state of information intake and encoding that induces processes of LTP in cortical networks resulting in a net increase in synaptic weights.

    “First, it is assumed that wakefulness in general is a state of information intake and encoding that induces processes of LTP in cortical networks resulting in a net increase in synaptic weights.”
  • The authors state this as an assumption.

    SWA is a direct marker of the amount of synaptic potentiation during prior wakefulness such that the higher the amount of synaptic potentiation in cortical circuits during wakefulness, the higher the increase in slow wave activity during subsequent sleep.

    “Second, it is assumed that SWA is a direct marker of the amount of synaptic potentiation during prior wakefulness such that”
  • The authors state this as an assumption.

    SWA is implicated in the downscaling of synaptic weights.

    “Third, it is assumed that SWA is implicated in the downscaling of synaptic weights.”
  • The authors state this as an assumption.

    SWA and in particular the <1 Hz slow oscillations proportionally downscale the potentiated synapses by a long-term depression-like mechanism.

    “SWA and in particular the Ͻ1 Hz slow oscillations are assumed to proportionally downscale the potentiated synapses by a long-term depression-like mechanism, as neuronal firing at frequencies Ͻ1 Hz is known to preferentially induce long-term depression (630, 789).”
  • The authors state this as an assumption.

    Memories are enhanced by sleep as a by-product of synaptic downscaling.

    “Fourth, the synaptic homeostasis hypothesis assumes that memories are enhanced by sleep as a by-product of synaptic downscaling.”
  • The authors state this as an assumption.

    During learning, correct (signal) as well as erroneous information (noise) is encoded, although the latter at a weaker strength; proportional downscaling of synapses during SWS reduces the weights of weaker synapses below a threshold, making them completely ineffective, whereby the signal-to-noise ratio and subsequent recall of the memory representation is enhanced.

    “During learning, correct (signal) as well as erroneous information (noise) is encoded, although the latter at a weaker strength.The proportional downscaling of synapses during SWS reduces the weights of weaker synapses below a threshold, making them completely ineffective, whereby the signal-to-noise ratio and the subsequent recall of the memory representation is enhanced.”
  • The authors state this as an assumption.

    Synaptic scaling in the cortical network is proportional.

    “nor for the assumption that synaptic scaling in the cortical network is proportional (293).”
  • The authors state this as an assumption.

    There exists a threshold below which weakly potentiated synapses are nullified.

    “So far, there is no experimental data supporting the existence of such a threshold, nor for the assumption that synaptic scaling in the cortical network is proportional (293).”
  • The authors state this as an assumption.

    Periods of reduced synaptic activity, like sleep, produce net up-scaling rather than downscaling of synapses.

    “In fact, the original concept of synaptic scaling as a self-tuning process of neuron networks assumes that periods of reduced synaptic activity, like sleep, produce net up-scaling rather than downscaling of synapses (409, 1219, 1220).”
  • The authors state this as an assumption.

    Maintenance of LTP, i.e., the development of late LTP from early LTP, requires a tagging of synapses due to associative heterosynaptic stimulation within a certain time window of about 30 min following LTP induction.

    “Maintenance of LTP, i.e., the development of late LTP from early LTP, is assumed to require a “tagging” of synapses due to associative heterosynaptic stimulation within a certain time window (ϳ30 min) following LTP induction (419).”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Reactivation and redistribution of memory representations constitute a central mechanism of memory consolidation during sleep.

    “Considering that reactivation and redistribution of memory representations constitute a central mechanism of memory consolidation during sleep, then the basic question arises whether these reactivations during sleep can newly induce LTP and LTD or merely serve to support the maintenance of LTP and LTD induced during prior waking.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Cholinergic activity during REM sleep is high and comparable with that during waking.

    “Cholinergic activity during REM sleep is high and comparable with that during waking, which might be particularly relevant for the consolidation of procedural memories during this sleep stage.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Sleep is genetically controlled.

    “Sleep is genetically controlled.”
  • The authors state this as an assumption.

    SWS predominantly supports consolidation of hippocampus-dependent declarative memory.

    “On the basis of the assumption that SWS predominantly supports consolidation of hippocampus-dependent declarative memory”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Compared with adults, infants and children sleep longer and deeper.

    “First, compared with adults, infants and children sleep longer and deeper.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    During early life the brain exhibits particularly strong plasticity shaping memory systems and underlying neuronal circuit formation.

    “In parallel, during early life the brain exhibits particularly strong plasticity shaping memory systems and underlying neuronal circuit formation.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Only a handful of studies have been conducted to explore memory-consolidating functions of sleep during early postnatal periods, infancy, and adolescence in humans.

    “Only a handful of studies have been conducted to explore memory-consolidating functions of sleep during early postnatal periods, infancy, and adolescence in humans.”
28 of 28

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

Self-check

Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.

Each contradiction between two passages listed here was confirmed by an independent check.

  • U-shaped curve conflicts with a peak at intermediate strength

    Minor

    The text says sleep benefits memories of intermediate initial strength most, but a U-shaped relationship would put the smallest benefit at the intermediate point. A peak there would instead be an inverted U-shaped relationship.

1 of 1

Citations

Cites

Flagged first, then by citations

Show all 1,378 references

11 of the 1378 references couldn’t be matched to a known paper.

Research works printed but not linked: 105

  1. Abel M, 2012, J Exp Psychol Learn Mem Cogn
  2. Ambrosini MV, 1995, Physiol Genomics, 58, 1043
  3. Antonenko D, Eur J Neurosci.
  4. Bachmann V, 2012, Sleep, 35, 335
  5. Battaglia FP, 2011, Trends Cogn Sci, 15, 310
  6. Beaulieu I, 2000, Brain Cognition, 43, 27
  7. Bellina V, 2008, J Sleep Res, 17, 39
  8. Benchenane K, 2008, Neuropsychobiology, 58, 233
  9. Bixler EO, 1968, Psychophysiology, 212
  10. Borbely AA, 1982, Hum Neurobiol, 1, 195
  11. Borbély AA, 2001, Arch Ital Biol, 139, 53
  12. Borbély AA, 1999, J Biol Rhythms, 14, 557
  13. Borrow SJAK, 1980, Sleep Res, 9
  14. Bouchard TJ, 1998, Hum Biol, 70, 257
  15. Bridoux A, 2012, J Neural Transm
  16. Briere ME, 2000, Sleep, 23, 219
  17. Brown R, 1989, Reg Immunol, 2, 321
  18. Bushey D, 2010, BMC Neurosci, 56
  19. Campanella C, 2011, Poster at the 2011 Annual Meeting of Cognitive Neuroscience Society
  20. Campbell IG, 2002, Sleep, 25, A134
  21. Carskadon MA, 2004, Sleep, 27, 402
  22. Castaldo V, 1969, Am J Ment Defic, 187
  23. Castaldo V, 1973, J Ment Defic Res, 17, 231
  24. Castaldo V, 1974, Biol Psychiatry, 9, 231
  25. Cipolli C, 2012, Sleep Med Rev
  26. Conte F, 2012, Sleep Med Rev
  27. Conway J, Proceedings of the 12th Congress of the European Sleep Research Society
  28. Diekelmann S, Sleep.
  29. Doran S, 2003, Sleep Res Online, 5, 133
  30. Dotto L, 1996, CMAJ, 154, 1193
  31. Dujardin K, 1988, CR Acad Sci III–Vie, 307, 653
  32. Durrant SJ, 2012, Cereb Cortex
  33. Ebbinghaus H, 1992, Untersuchungen zur experimentellen Psychologie
  34. Engeset A, 1977, Lymphology, 10, 198
  35. Evans CR, 1964, New Sci, 419, 577
  36. Feinberg I, 1969, Biol Psychiatry, 1, 331
  37. Feld G, Sleep.
  38. Feng Y, 2002, Sheng Li Xue Bao, 54, 65
  39. Fenn KM, 2011, J Exp Psychol Gen
  40. Franken P, 1999, Sleep, 22, 155
  41. Fukuma E, 1974, Folia Psychiat Neurol J, 28, 333
  42. Geyer H, 1937, Z Indukt Abstamm Ver, 524
  43. Gibbs FGE, 1964, Atlas of Electroencephalography. III. Neurological and Psychiatric Disorders.
  44. Groch S, 2012, Neurobiol Learn Mem
  45. Groeger JA, 2008, Sleep, 31, 1159
  46. Guerrien A, 1994, Acta Psychiatr Belg, 94, 75
  47. 10.1016/0166-4328(95)00013-J · DOI
  48. Holdstock TL, 1974, S Afr J Psychol, 16
  49. Iber C, 2007, The AASM Manual for the Scoring of Sleep and Associated Events: Rules, Terminology, and Technical Specification.
  50. Jenni OG, 2004, Sleep, 27, 774
  51. Keppel G, 1984, Consolidation and Forgetting
  52. Kloet de ER, 1998, Endocr Rev, 19, 269
  53. Koninck de J, 1990, Psychiatr J Univ Ott, 15, 91
  54. Lamsa KP, 2010, Front Synaptic Neurosci, 2, 8
  55. Leconte P, 1970, CR Acad Sci D Nat, 271, 226
  56. Lestienne R, 1997, J Physiol, 91, 273
  57. Lewin I, 1973, Sleep: Physiology, Biochemistry, Psychology, Pharmacology, Clinical Implications, 399
  58. Lindsay S, 2012, J Exp Psychol Learn
  59. 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2008.02.040 · DOI · Paper page
  60. Maquet P, 2003, Rev Neurol, 159, 6S27
  61. Martin N, 2012, Neurobiol Aging
  62. McGaugh JL, 1976, Neural Mechanisms of Learning and Memory
  63. Morin A, 2008, Sleep, 31, 1149
  64. Müller GPA, 1900, Z Psychol, 1
  65. Nader RS, 2001, Sleep, 24, A160
  66. Pace-Schott EF, 2009, Sleep, 32, 19
  67. Paul K, 1975, Sleep 74, 388
  68. Pearlman CA, 1969, Rep US Nav Submar Med Cent, 1
  69. Pereira DS, 2005, Sleep, 28, 29
  70. Portell Cortes I, 1988, Arch Neurobiol, 51, 305
  71. Prather AA, 2012, Sleep, 35, 1063
  72. Quan SF, 1997, Sleep, 20, 1077
  73. Rattenborg NC, 2010, Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc
  74. Renegar KB, 1998, Sleep, 21, 241
  75. Ritter SM, J Sleep Res.
  76. Sanford LD, 2001, Arch Ital Biol, 139, 169
  77. Scharf MB, 1986, Hillside J Clin Psychiatry, 8, 38
  78. Schmidt HS, 1968, Psychophysiology, 212
  79. Schmidt R, 1987, Z Angew Psychol, 195, 223
  80. Scullin MK, 2012, Psychol Aging
  81. Seeck-Hirschner M, 2011, Am J Geriatr Psychiatry
  82. Seibt J, 2008, Sleep, 31, 1381
  83. Sheth BR, 2012, Sleep, 35, 985, 10.5665/sleep.1826 · DOI · Paper page
  84. Smith C, 1993, The Functions of Dreaming, 341
  85. Smith C, 1993, Sleep Res, 22
  86. Smith C, 2003, Sleep, 26, 185
  87. Smith C, 1990, Psychiatr J Univ Ott, 15, 85
  88. Smith C, 1980, Sleep, 3, 67
  89. 1997, Sleep, 26, 690
  90. Song SS, 2009, Dissertation Abstr Int B Sci Eng, 69, 5086
  91. Späth-Schwalbe E, 1995, J Clin Endocrinol Metab, 80, 214
  92. Späth-Schwalbe E, 1993, J Clin Endocrinol Metab, 77, 1170
  93. Spiegel K, 1995, Sleep, 18, 543
  94. Spight JB, 1928, J Exp Psychol, 6
  95. Spoormaker VI, 2011, Hum Brain Mapp Advanced Online Publication
  96. Terman L, 1925, Genetic Studies of Genius: Mental and Physical Traits of WOO Gifted C.
  97. Timofeev I, 2001, Thalamus Related Systems, 1, 53
  98. Tononi G, 2001, Arch Ital Biol, 139, 221
  99. Van Ormer EB, 1932, Arch Psychol, 137, 1
  100. Vecsey CG, 2012, Physiol Rev, 44, 981
  101. Wagner U, 2002, Psychosom Med, 64, 627
  102. Wilhelm I, Nat Neurosci.
  103. Wolfowitz BE, 1971, Commun Behav Biol A, 281
  104. Zimmerman J, 1970, Psychophysiology, 7, 298
  105. Zimmerman JT, 1978, Biol Psychiatry, 13, 301

Cited by

Sorted by citations

Items 1,101–1,200 of 2,784

Metadata

Authors
Rasch, B., & Born, J.
Affiliations
  • University of Zurich (CH)
  • Division of Biopsychology, Neuroscience Center Zurich and Zurich Center for Integrative Human Physiology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland; and Institute of Medical Psychology and Behavioral Neurobiology, and Center for Integrative Neuroscience, University of Tuebingen, Tuebingen, Germany
Corresponding author
Rasch, Björn
Venue
Physiological Reviews
Published
2013-04
Volume
93
Issue
2
Pages
681-766
ISSN
  • 0031-9333 (ISSN-L)
  • 1522-1210
OpenAlex
W2102656701
Cited by
2,783
References
1,378
Citations by year
2026: 208 · 2025: 287 · 2024: 270 · 2023: 273 · 2022: 286 · 2021: 252 · 2020: 242 · 2019: 218 · 2018: 183 · 2017: 177 · 2016: 149 · 2015: 130 · 2014: 90 · 2013: 16
FWCI
10.98
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Physiological Reviews (publishedVersion)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Zurich Open Repository and Archive (University of Zurich) (acceptedVersion, other-oa)
  • Zurich Open Repository and Archive (University of Zurich) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
  • Zurich Open Repository and Archive (University of Zurich)
Funders
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (SFB654)
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, memory consolidation, slow-wave sleep, REM sleep, memory reactivation, hippocampal-dependent memory, long-term memory formation, memory encoding, immunological memory
MeSH terms
Animals, Brain, Humans, Learning, Memory, Neuronal Plasticity, Neurons, Sleep

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

A language model drew the claims from the paper on 2026-10-12, under version 3 of the claim definition (model deepseek-v4.1-flash, prompt extract-v3).

A second model labelled each claim on 2026-10-12 (model jev-1.13-20260917, definition revision gold-guideline-v0.2).

Cited sources are checked with a language model’s help (gpt-6-sol).

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review