Bi-Temporal Anodal Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation during Slow-Wave Sleep Boosts Slow-Wave Density but Not Memory Consolidation
Slow-wave sleep (SWS) has been shown to promote long-term consolidation of episodic memories in hippocampo–neocortical networks. Previous research has aimed to modulate cortical sleep slow-waves and spindles to facilitate episodic memory consolidation. Here, we instead aimed to modulate hippocampal...
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MDPI AG
2021-03-01
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| Series: | Brain Sciences |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3425/11/4/410 |
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| author | Simon Ruch Kristoffer Fehér Stephanie Homan Yosuke Morishima Sarah Maria Mueller Stefanie Verena Mueller Thomas Dierks Matthias Grieder |
| author_facet | Simon Ruch Kristoffer Fehér Stephanie Homan Yosuke Morishima Sarah Maria Mueller Stefanie Verena Mueller Thomas Dierks Matthias Grieder |
| author_sort | Simon Ruch |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Slow-wave sleep (SWS) has been shown to promote long-term consolidation of episodic memories in hippocampo–neocortical networks. Previous research has aimed to modulate cortical sleep slow-waves and spindles to facilitate episodic memory consolidation. Here, we instead aimed to modulate hippocampal activity during slow-wave sleep using transcranial direct current stimulation in 18 healthy humans. A pair-associate episodic memory task was used to evaluate sleep-dependent memory consolidation with face–occupation stimuli. Pre- and post-nap retrieval was assessed as a measure of memory performance. Anodal stimulation with 2 mA was applied bilaterally over the lateral temporal cortex, motivated by its particularly extensive connections to the hippocampus. The participants slept in a magnetic resonance (MR)-simulator during the recordings to test the feasibility for a future MR-study. We used a sham-controlled, double-blind, counterbalanced randomized, within-subject crossover design. We show that stimulation vs. sham significantly increased slow-wave density and the temporal coupling of fast spindles and slow-waves. While retention of episodic memories across sleep was not affected across the entire sample of participants, it was impaired in participants with below-average pre-sleep memory performance. Hence, bi-temporal anodal direct current stimulation applied during sleep enhanced sleep parameters that are typically involved in memory consolidation, but it failed to improve memory consolidation and even tended to impair consolidation in poor learners. These findings suggest that artificially enhancing memory-related sleep parameters to improve memory consolidation can actually backfire in those participants who are in most need of memory improvement. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T12:57:02Z |
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| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-3425 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T12:57:02Z |
| publishDate | 2021-03-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Brain Sciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-6035759b20574a4db376643b876f083e2023-11-21T11:50:54ZengMDPI AGBrain Sciences2076-34252021-03-0111441010.3390/brainsci11040410Bi-Temporal Anodal Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation during Slow-Wave Sleep Boosts Slow-Wave Density but Not Memory ConsolidationSimon Ruch0Kristoffer Fehér1Stephanie Homan2Yosuke Morishima3Sarah Maria Mueller4Stefanie Verena Mueller5Thomas Dierks6Matthias Grieder7Cognitive Neuroscience of Memory and Consciousness, Institute of Psychology, University of Bern, 3012 Bern, SwitzerlandTranslational Research Center, University Hospital of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Bern, 3000 Bern, SwitzerlandTranslational Research Center, University Hospital of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Bern, 3000 Bern, SwitzerlandTranslational Research Center, University Hospital of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Bern, 3000 Bern, SwitzerlandTranslational Research Center, University Hospital of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Bern, 3000 Bern, SwitzerlandTranslational Research Center, University Hospital of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Bern, 3000 Bern, SwitzerlandTranslational Research Center, University Hospital of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Bern, 3000 Bern, SwitzerlandTranslational Research Center, University Hospital of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Bern, 3000 Bern, SwitzerlandSlow-wave sleep (SWS) has been shown to promote long-term consolidation of episodic memories in hippocampo–neocortical networks. Previous research has aimed to modulate cortical sleep slow-waves and spindles to facilitate episodic memory consolidation. Here, we instead aimed to modulate hippocampal activity during slow-wave sleep using transcranial direct current stimulation in 18 healthy humans. A pair-associate episodic memory task was used to evaluate sleep-dependent memory consolidation with face–occupation stimuli. Pre- and post-nap retrieval was assessed as a measure of memory performance. Anodal stimulation with 2 mA was applied bilaterally over the lateral temporal cortex, motivated by its particularly extensive connections to the hippocampus. The participants slept in a magnetic resonance (MR)-simulator during the recordings to test the feasibility for a future MR-study. We used a sham-controlled, double-blind, counterbalanced randomized, within-subject crossover design. We show that stimulation vs. sham significantly increased slow-wave density and the temporal coupling of fast spindles and slow-waves. While retention of episodic memories across sleep was not affected across the entire sample of participants, it was impaired in participants with below-average pre-sleep memory performance. Hence, bi-temporal anodal direct current stimulation applied during sleep enhanced sleep parameters that are typically involved in memory consolidation, but it failed to improve memory consolidation and even tended to impair consolidation in poor learners. These findings suggest that artificially enhancing memory-related sleep parameters to improve memory consolidation can actually backfire in those participants who are in most need of memory improvement.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3425/11/4/410memory consolidationhippocampussleepslow wavetranscranial direct current stimulationtemporal lobe |
| spellingShingle | Simon Ruch Kristoffer Fehér Stephanie Homan Yosuke Morishima Sarah Maria Mueller Stefanie Verena Mueller Thomas Dierks Matthias Grieder Bi-Temporal Anodal Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation during Slow-Wave Sleep Boosts Slow-Wave Density but Not Memory Consolidation Brain Sciences memory consolidation hippocampus sleep slow wave transcranial direct current stimulation temporal lobe |
| title | Bi-Temporal Anodal Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation during Slow-Wave Sleep Boosts Slow-Wave Density but Not Memory Consolidation |
| title_full | Bi-Temporal Anodal Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation during Slow-Wave Sleep Boosts Slow-Wave Density but Not Memory Consolidation |
| title_fullStr | Bi-Temporal Anodal Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation during Slow-Wave Sleep Boosts Slow-Wave Density but Not Memory Consolidation |
| title_full_unstemmed | Bi-Temporal Anodal Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation during Slow-Wave Sleep Boosts Slow-Wave Density but Not Memory Consolidation |
| title_short | Bi-Temporal Anodal Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation during Slow-Wave Sleep Boosts Slow-Wave Density but Not Memory Consolidation |
| title_sort | bi temporal anodal transcranial direct current stimulation during slow wave sleep boosts slow wave density but not memory consolidation |
| topic | memory consolidation hippocampus sleep slow wave transcranial direct current stimulation temporal lobe |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3425/11/4/410 |
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