Illustration of the activity of neurons in the brain of a rat
Connect Images/Alay
Enhancing the activity of certain brain waves while rats sleep improves their performance on a memory test. If we can increase these in people, it could lead to new treatments for dementia and other memory impairments.
Memories are encoded in unique patterns of activity between neurons. Whenever we learn or experience something new, a subset of neurons form connections. These bonds are then strengthened during us sleepstrengthening memory This process is called memory consolidation.
