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  1. Abstract

    Sleep's role in memory consolidation is widely acknowledged, but its role in weakening memories is still debated. Memory weakening is evolutionary beneficial and makes an integral contribution to cognition. We sought evidence on whether sleep-based memory reactivation can facilitate memory suppression. Participants learned pairs of associable words (e.g., DIET–CREAM) and were then exposed to hint words (e.g., DIET) and instructed to either recall (“think”) or suppress (“no-think”) the corresponding target words (e.g., CREAM). As expected, suppression impaired retention when tested immediately after a 90-min nap. To test if reactivation could selectively enhance memory suppression during sleep, we unobtrusively presented one of two sounds conveying suppression instructions during sleep, followed by hint words. Results showed that targeted memory reactivation did not enhance suppression-induced forgetting. Although not predicted, post-hoc analyses revealed that sleep cues strengthened memory, but only for suppressed pairs that were weakly encoded before sleep. The results leave open the question of whether memory suppression can be augmented during sleep, but suggest strategies for future studies manipulating memory suppression during sleep. Additionally, our findings support the notion that sleep reactivation is particularly beneficial for weakly encoded information, which may be prioritized for consolidation.

     
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  2. Abstract

    Although we experience thousands of distinct events on a daily basis, relatively few are committed to memory. The human capacity to intentionally control which events will be remembered has been demonstrated using learning procedures with instructions to purposely avoid committing specific items to memory. In this study, we used a variant of the item-based directed-forgetting procedure and instructed participants to memorize the location of some images but not others on a grid. These instructions were conveyed using a set of auditory cues. Then, during an afternoon nap, we unobtrusively presented a cue that was used to instruct participant to avoid committing the locations of some images to memory. After sleep, memory was worse for to-be-forgotten image locations associated with the presented sound relative to those associated with a sound that was not presented during sleep. We conclude that memory processing during sleep can serve not only to secure memory storage but also to weaken it. Given that intentional suppression may be used to weaken unpleasant memories, such sleep-based strategies may help accelerate treatments for memory-related disorders such as post-traumatic stress disorder.

     
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  3. During sleep, recently acquired episodic memories (i.e., autobiographical memories for specific events) are strengthened and transformed, a process termed consolidation. These memories are contextual in nature, with details of specific features interwoven with more general properties such as the time and place of the event. In this study, we hypothesized that the context in which a memory is embedded would guide the process of consolidation during sleep. To test this idea, we used a spatial memory task and considered changes in memory over a 10-h period including either sleep or wake. In both conditions, participants ( N = 62) formed stories that contextually bound four objects together and then encoded the on-screen spatial position of all objects. Results showed that the changes in memory over the sleep period were correlated among contextually linked objects, whereas no such effect was identified for the wake group. These results demonstrate that context-binding plays an important role in memory consolidation during sleep. 
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  4. null (Ed.)
    Abstract Memory consolidation involves the reactivation of memory traces during sleep. If different memories are reactivated each night, how much do they interfere with one another? We examined whether reactivating multiple memories incurs a cost to sleep-related benefits by contrasting reactivation of multiple memories versus single memories during sleep. First, participants learned the on-screen location of different objects. Each object was part of a semantically coherent group comprised of either one, two, or six items (e.g., six different cats). During sleep, sounds were unobtrusively presented to reactivate memories for half of the groups (e.g., “meow”). Memory benefits for cued versus non-cued items were independent of the number of items in the group, suggesting that reactivation occurs in a simultaneous and promiscuous manner. Intriguingly, sleep spindles and delta-theta power modulations were sensitive to group size, reflecting the extent of previous learning. Our results demonstrate that multiple memories may be consolidated in parallel without compromising each memory’s sleep-related benefit. These findings highlight alternative models for parallel consolidation that should be considered in future studies. 
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  5. null (Ed.)
  6. null (Ed.)
    The memories that we retain can serve many functions. They guide our future actions, form a scaffold for constructing the self, and continue to shape both the self and the way we perceive the world. Although most memories we acquire each day are forgotten, those integrated within the structure of multiple prior memories tend to endure. A rapidly growing body of research is steadily elucidating how the consolidation of memories depends on their reactivation during sleep. Processing memories during sleep not only helps counteract their weakening but also supports problem solving, creativity, and emotional regulation. Yet, sleep-based processing might become maladaptive, such as when worries are excessively revisited. Advances in research on memory and sleep can thus shed light on how this processing influences our waking life, which can further inspire the development of novel strategies for decreasing detrimental rumination-like activity during sleep and for promoting beneficial sleep cognition. 
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  7. null ; Mangun, G.R. ; Gazzaniga, M.S. (Ed.)
    The human ability to remember unique experiences from many years ago comes so naturally that we often take it for granted. It depends on three stages: (1) encoding, when new information is initially registered, (2) storage, when encoded information is held in the brain, and (3) retrieval, when stored information is used. Historically, cognitive neuroscience studies of memory have emphasized encoding and retrieval. Yet, the intervening stage may hold the most intrigue, and has become a major research focus in the years since the last edition of this book. Here we describe recent investigations of post-acquisition memory processing in relation to enduring storage. This evidence of memory processing belies the notion that memories stored in the brain are held in stasis, without changing. Various methods for influencing and monitoring brain activity have been applied to study offline memory processing. In particular, memories can be reactivated during sleep and during resting periods, with distinctive physiological correlates. These neural signals shed light on the contribution of hippocampal-neocortical interactions to memory consolidation. Overall, results converge on the notion that memory reactivation is a critical determinant of systems-level consolidation, and thus of future remembering, which in turn facilitates future planning and problem solving. 
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