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Updated: Aug 14, 2026

Measuring Neural Mechanisms Underlying Sleep-Dependent Memory Consolidation During Naps in Early Childhood
Published on: October 2, 2019
Sleep, memory, and plasticity
Matthew P Walker1, Robert Stickgold
1Sleep and Neuroimaging, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, USA. mwalker@hms.harvard.edu
Abstract:
Although the functions of sleep remain largely unknown, one of the most exciting hypotheses is that sleep contributes importantly to processes of memory and brain plasticity. Over the past decade, a large body of work, spanning most of the neurosciences, has provided a substantive body of evidence supporting this role of sleep in what is becoming known as sleep-dependent memory processing. We review these findings, focusing specifically on the role of sleep in (a) memory encoding, (b) memory consolidation, (c) brain plasticity, and (d) memory reconsolidation; we finish with a summary of the field and its potential future directions.
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