Dr Scott Cairney, University of York

Sleep, Memory and Mental Health

Sleep plays a crucial role in memory processing. Yet, the neurobiological mechanisms by which memories are strengthened in sleep, and the related consequences of sleep loss for mental health, are poorly understood. In the first part of this talk, I will address the mechanisms of memory processing in the sleeping brain, focusing on a prominent electrophysiological feature of deep sleep known as the sleep spindle. I will present evidence that spindles mediate the reactivation of newly formed memory traces in sleep, facilitating their integration into long-term memory. In the second part, I will describe a recent body of work addressing the harmful impacts of sleep loss for memory, cognition and mental health. In particular, I will show that sleep deprivation leads to a marked impairment in our ability to suppress unwanted thoughts, and, consequently, our capacity to re-appraise emotionally negative experiences. These findings will provide preliminary new insights into the relationship between sleep loss and affective disorders such as depression and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Keywords: sleep; memory consolidation; EEG; sleep deprivation; mental health