Memory ability and retention performance relate differentially to sleep depth and spindle type

Fereshteh Dehnavi; Ping Chai Koo-Poeggel; Maryam Ghorbani; Lisa Marshall

doi:10.1016/j.isci.2023.108154

Memory ability and retention performance relate differentially to sleep depth and spindle type

iScience. 2023 Oct 6;26(11):108154. doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2023.108154. eCollection 2023 Nov 17.

Authors

Fereshteh Dehnavi^{1

2}, Ping Chai Koo-Poeggel^{3

4}, Maryam Ghorbani^{1

5

2}, Lisa Marshall^{3

4}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Electrical Engineering, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad 9177948974, Iran.
² Center for International Scientific Studies & Collaborations (CISSC), Shahid Azodi Street, Karim-Khane Zand Boulevard, Tehran 15875-7788, Iran.
³ Institute of Experimental and Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Luebeck, Ratzeburger Allee 160, Bldg. 66, 23562 Luebeck, Germany.
⁴ Center for Brain, Behavior and Metabolism, University of Luebeck, 23562 Luebeck, Germany.
⁵ Rayan Center for Neuroscience and Behavior, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad 9177948974, Iran.

Abstract

Temporal interactions between non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep rhythms especially the coupling between cortical slow oscillations (SO, ∼1 Hz) and thalamic spindles (∼12 Hz) have been proposed to contribute to multi-regional interactions crucial for memory processing and cognitive ability. We investigated relationships between NREM sleep depth, sleep spindles and SO-spindle coupling regarding memory ability and memory consolidation in healthy humans. Findings underscore the functional relevance of spindle dynamics (slow versus fast), SO-phase, and most importantly NREM sleep depth for cognitive processing. Cross-frequency coupling analyses demonstrated stronger precise temporal coordination of slow spindles to SO down-state in N2 for subjects with higher general memory ability. A GLM model underscored this relationship, and furthermore that fast spindle properties were predictive of overnight memory consolidation. Our results suggest cognitive fingerprints dependent on conjoint fine-tuned SO-spindle temporal coupling, spindle properties, and brain sleep state.

Keywords: biological sciences; chronobiology; clinical neuroscience; health sciences; natural sciences; neurology; neuroscience.