The lighter sleep stage is often experienced during naps. Researchers examined neural activity in macaques performing visual tasks before and after a 30-minute NREM sleep session. Using advanced multielectrode arrays, the team recorded activity from thousands of neurons across brain regions critical for vision and executive functions. The results were striking: after sleep, the animals demonstrated significantly improved task accuracy, such as distinguishing rotated images, compared to their pre-sleep performance. These results suggest that NREM sleep has a direct impact on the brain’s cognitive performance. This artificial stimulation boosted task performance to levels comparable to those observed after sleep. The study also revealed that sleep weakens both excitatory and inhibitory neural connections, with inhibitory connections reduced more significantly. This dynamic increases overall excitation, resetting the brain for better information processing. These findings suggest that specific brain stimulation techniques could emulate sleep’s benefits, offering a future where cognitive and perceptual enhancements are achievable even without rest By uncovering how NREM sleep impacts the brain’s performance, this research paves the way for revolutionary therapies, which could be used alongside other cognitive therapies that focus on the other recovery effects sleep has on the brain. Remarkably, the researchers replicated the cognitive benefits of sleep using low-frequency electrical stimulation of the visual cortex. By applying 4-Hz stimulation, mimicking the delta waves of NREM sleep, they induced neural desynchronization in awake macaques, thus causing the performance-enhancing effects of sleep to trigger even without sleeping.
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Monday, January 20, 2025