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Sleep is for rest, waking consciousness is for learning and memory – of any kind

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 July 2005

Robert P. Vertes
Robert P. Vertes*
Affiliation:
Center for Complex Systems and Brain Sciences, Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, FL 33431
*
[email protected]
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Abstract

Although considerable attention has been paid to the possible involvement of sleep in memory processing, there is no substantial evidence for it. Walker describes a phenomenon of consolidation-based enhancement (CBE), whereby performance on select procedural tasks improves with overnight sleep; that is, without additional practice on the tasks. CBE, however, appears restricted to a few tasks, and even with these tasks CBE is not confined to sleep but also occurs during wakefulness. Sleep serves no unique role in this process. At best, CBE is a slow, time-dependent process of consolidation that begins with task acquisition in waking and can under some circumstances extend to sleep.

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 28 , Issue 1 , February 2005 , pp. 86 - 87
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2005

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