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Rebecca M. C. Spencer, PhD Associate Professor of
Psychological & Brain Sciences
Sleep, circadian rhythms, and cognitive function
Disclosures Current funding:
• University of Massachusetts • National Institutes of Health
National Heart, Lung & Blood Institute (NIH R01 HL111695) National Institute on Aging (NIH R01 AG040133)
Other financial relationships:
• Past funding from: Avery Dennison, Jawbone
Conflicts of interest:
• National Institute on Aging and University of Massachusetts funds contributed directly to the work presented in this talk.
Z-sc
ore
Sle
ep E
ffici
ency
Total Sleep Tim
e
Age Age
Sleep impairments are prevalent in normal aging
Cognitive impairments (e.g., long-term memory, executive functions) are prevalent as well
Significance
Sleep Cognition
Significance
Sleep impairments are prevalent in normal aging
Cognitive impairments (e.g., long-term memory, executive functions) are prevalent as well
Parallel trajectories with aging and evidence from young adults suggest that age-related changes in sleep and cognition may be related
If so, sleep may be a target for improving cognitive function in older adults.
Chronotype changes with age
10-17a 19-31b 30-49c 59-79d
Age (yrs)
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Perc
ent e
veni
ng-ty
pe
Perc
ent m
orni
ng-ty
pe
State-of-the-art knowledge
Shift in chronotype affects performance
State-of-the-art knowledge
0 6 12 18 0 6 12 18 0
0 6 12 18 0 6 12 18 0
Young adult
Older adult
Ale
rtne
ss
Ale
rtne
ss Peak alertness:
Reaction time
Inhibitory control
Working memory
Recognition memory
Performance is more equated when individuals are tested at their preferred time with respect to chronotype (see Schmidt et al., 2007)
Sleep also contributes to cognitive performance
State-of-the-art knowledge
0 6 12 18 0 6 12 18 0
0 6 12 18 0 6 12 18 0
Young adult
Older adult
decay
decay
consolidate
?
Sleep benefits cognition in young adults
State-of-the-art knowledge
WAKE
SLEEP
Sleep benefits cognition in young adults
State-of-the-art knowledge
50
55
60
65
70
75
80
Wake Sleep
prepost
Accu
racy
(%)
Sleep benefits cognition in young adults
State-of-the-art knowledge
Correlations between slow wave sleep (SWS) and change in declarative memory over sleep
Parahippocampal gyrus activity
during SWS
40
60
80
100
5 15 25 35
SWS (%)
Rec
all a
ccur
acy
(%)
Declarative memories
State-of-the-art knowledge
Mood regulation and emotional processing
State-of-the-art knowledge
Procedural/skill memories
State-of-the-art knowledge
Sleep contributes to cognitive performance
State-of-the-art knowledge
0 6 12 18 6 12 18 0
0 6 12 18 0 12 18 0
Young adult
Older adult
REM
N1
N2
SWS
REM
N1
N2
SWS
decay
decay
consolidate
?
Do changes in sleep change the function of sleep on cognition?
Is sleep-dependent cognitive processing reduced with age?
State-of-the-art knowledge
…it depends
Declarative/ SWS-dependent
Procedural/ n2-dependent
Emotional/ REM-dependent
% o
f stu
dies
absent
reduced
preserved
n=7 n=13 n=2
Consolidation of declarative memories largely preserved
Consolidation of procedural memories Is reduced
Consolidation of positive memories is preserved negative memories is absent
Knowledge gaps
What underlies changes in sleep’s benefit on memory? Changes in a sleep stage? Neural basis of storage?
What activities of daily living benefit from sleep in older adults? Decision-making? Temporal judgments (scheduling, remembering lists)?
What are the implications of the deficit in procedural memory consolidation?
Research opportunities
How does the quality of sleep stages change with aging?
What is the relationship between the changes in circadian rhythms and sleep (and sleep stages)?
Would an intervention to improve sleep (CBT, nap intervention) improve cognitive processing?
Is sleep-dependent cognitive processing reduced with age?
State-of-the-art knowledge
Absent Reduced Spared
Declarative
Procedural
Emotional
5 17 10 22 20 2 8
11 16 7
9 9
1 3 6 12 13 14 15 18 19 21
neg pos
…it depends
