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Updated: May 21, 2025

Measuring Neural Mechanisms Underlying Sleep-Dependent Memory Consolidation During Naps in Early Childhood
Published on: October 2, 2019
A role for respiration in coordinating sleep oscillations and memory consolidation
Fabian Schwimmbeck1, Esteban Bullón Tarrasó2, Thomas Schreiner2
1Department of Psychology, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, München, Germany; Department of Neurology, Christian Doppler University Hospital, Paracelsus Medical University, Salzburg, Austria; Department of Psychology, Centre for Cognitive Neuroscience (CCNS), Paris-Lodron-University of Salzburg, Austria.
None:
Memory consolidation is thought to rely on the interplay of sleep-related brain oscillations. Drawing on recent findings that highlight the influence of respiration on these rhythms, we outline a framework positioning respiration as pacemaker for sleep's memory function. By orchestrating the cardinal non-rapid eye movement (NREM) oscillations, namely slow oscillations, spindles, and sharp wave-ripples, respiration may coordinate the hippocampo-cortical crosstalk essential for memory consolidation.
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