Brain Boosts Memory Formation While Sleeping

Wednesday, February 24, 2010, 17:05

Brain promotes the recollection of memories while sleeping. Brain functions differently during sleep. Sleeping brain has the ability to boost the recollection of memories. Brain on the cellular level, changes the strength of its connections during the sleep.

This research is done by Marcos Frank, associate professor of Neuroscience at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. They found that when an animal goes to sleep, everything necessary for a synaptic change to form the basis of memory information is turned on. The brain is triggered to reorganize the neural networks in wakefulness setting a series of enzymes in to action.

A molecule called N-Methyl D-Aspartate Receptor (NMDAR) plays a vital role in reorganizing the neurons, during the sleep. It receives extracellular signals in the form of glutamate and regulates the flow of calcium ions into cells, which helps the process.