Memories are strengthened via brainwaves produced during sleep, new study shows

Researchers have known about the close relationship between sleep and memory for decades. Now, a new study published in the journal NeuroImage looks at one important mechanism in that relationship. The research brings us closer to understanding how learned information turns into reliable memories during sleep.

The study was led by Thanh Dang-Vu, associate professor in the Department of Health, Kinesiology and Applied Physiology and Concordia University Research Chair in Sleep, Neuroimaging and Cognitive Health. In it, researchers studied how declarative information like facts and faces get stored after they have been learned. It has to do with brainwaves -- specifically, ones called sleep spindles, which are fast bursts of electrical activity produced by neurons mainly during Stage 2 sleep, prior to deep sleep.

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