Sleep spindles and brain plasticity

Several lines of research suggest that sleep spindle activity - a prominent feature of stage 2 sleep - is relevant for memory consolidation. All of these studies demonstrate a learning dependent increase in spindle activity, indicating that good performance is related to increased spindle activity. Research on spindle activity has to date be focus on electro-encephalographic (EEG) recordings, which in contrast to functional MRI (fMRI) do not allow to identify anatomical structures related to cognitive tasks. Brain areas involved in memory functions will be determined using fMRI, sleep spindle related activity will be assessed acquiring fMRI images simultaneously with continuous EEG during sleep and afternoon naps. Furthermore, this post-doctoral project will provide the applicant the opportunity to gain experience in a different laboratory with outstanding experts in the field of sleep and memory research and extend his scientific repertory to up-to-date neuroimaging techniques (fMRI & PET). This project is both ambitious and practically important. It is ambitious as it uses world-class MR technology, performed at one of the few centres world wide capable of performing fMRI/EEG. It is feasible, as all the methods used have been previously performed in the hands of the collaborators. The study is fundamentally important, as it will shed light on one of the most fascinating questions of today`s research, the meaning of sleep and dreaming and its potential impact for human information processing. Furthermore, this research is important as new discoveries in sleep and memory research will have wide implications for the awareness of sleep (hygienic) and as a consequence significant impact on individual quality of life as well as the community as a whole, as physical and mental illness, as well as accidents due to sleep problems cause enormous costs for any state.