To sleep, perchance to integrate

摘要

One of the most intriguing and lasting proposals in psychological and neuroscience research is that sleep plays an important role in the consolidation of memories from a labile state into a permanent state. In recent years, there has been considerable research on this issue, and the findings have generated both supporters and skeptics locked in heated debate (1-3). A new study by Ellenbogen et al. (4) in this issue of PNAS contributes to this debate and may help us get past the superficial question of whether sleep plays a role by beginning to inform us on how sleep might contribute to information-processing that ultimately underlies memory consolidation.