Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 18, 2026

Slice Patch Clamp Technique for Analyzing Learning-Induced Plasticity
Published on: November 11, 2017
It's practice, with sleep, that makes perfect: implications of sleep-dependent learning and plasticity for skill
Matthew P Walker1, Robert Stickgold
1Sleep and Neuroimaging, Center for Sleep and Cognition, Department of Psychiatry, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, 330 Brookline Avenue, Boston, MA 02215, USA. mwalker@hms.harvard.edu
Abstract:
Although there is no consensus regarding the functions of sleep, one exciting hypothesis is that sleep contributes importantly to learning and memory. Over the last decade, several studies have provided substantive evidence supporting the role of sleep in memory processing. This article focuses on sleep-dependent learning and brain plasticity in humans, specifically in the development of skill performance that is the foundation of many sports actions. The different forms and stages of human memory are discussed, then evidence of sleep-dependent skill learning and associated sleep-dependent brain plasticity is described. In conclusion, a consideration of the fundamental importance of sleep in real-life skill learning is provided.
Related Concept Videos
Neuroplasticity
Long-term Potentiation
Long-term Potentiation
Hebbian LTP
LTP can occur when presynaptic neurons...
Purposive Learning
Implicit Memories
One key aspect of implicit...
Higher Mental Functions of Brain: Learning and Memory
