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Memory Dynamics Lab

Justin C. Hulbert, Principal Investigator

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You are here: Home / Research / Publications / The sleeping brain’s influence on verbal memory: Boosting resistance to interference

The sleeping brain’s influence on verbal memory: Boosting resistance to interference

Ellenbogen, J. M., Hulbert, J. C., Jiang, Y., & Stickgold, R. (2009). The sleeping brain’s influence on verbal memory: Boosting resistance to interference. PLoS ONE, 4(1), e4117.

Abstract: Memories evolve. After learning something new, the brain initiates a complex set of post-learning processing that facilitates recall (i.e., consolidation). Evidence points to sleep as one of the determinants of that change. But whenever a behavioral study of episodic memory shows a benefit of sleep, critics assert that sleep only leads to a temporary shelter from the damaging effects of interference that would otherwise accrue during wakefulness. To evaluate the potentially active role of sleep for verbal memory, we compared memory recall after sleep, with and without interference before testing. We demonstrated that recall performance for verbal memory was greater after sleep than after wakefulness. And when using interference testing, that difference was even more pronounced. By introducing interference after sleep, this study confirms an experimental paradigm that demonstrates the active role of sleep in consolidating memory, and unmasks the large magnitude of that benefit. »PDF

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Lab Mission

The Memory Dynamics Lab, part of the Psychology Program at Bard College, works to harness the mechanisms responsible for adaptively retrieving, consolidating, and forgetting memories through cognitive neuroscience (including the study of human brainwaves and behavior while awake and asleep). In doing so, we aim to distill and disseminate strategies designed to help learners capitalize on these mental operations, allowing them to better remember when/what they want to remember and forget when/what they want to forget.

Memory Dynamics Lab

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Justin Hulbert, Ph.D.
Bard College
PO Box 5000
Annandale-on-Hudson, NY 12504-5000

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(p): 845.752.4390
(e): [email protected]

Related Links

»CompMem Lab
»Memory Control Lab
»Context Lab
»BAP Lab

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