title: Experience-dependent changes in cerebral activation during human REM sleep.
abstract: The function of rapid-eye-movement (REM) sleep is still unknown. One prevailing hypothesis suggests that REM sleep is important in processing memory traces. Here, using positron emission tomography (PET) and regional cerebral blood flow measurements, we show that waking experience influences regional brain activity during subsequent sleep. Several brain areas activated during the execution of a serial reaction time task during wakefulness were significantly more active during REM sleep in subjects previously trained on the task than in non-trained subjects. These results support the hypothesis that memory traces are processed during REM sleep in humans.
authors.affiliation: Cyclotron Research Centre, University of Liège, Belgium. maquet@pet.crc.ulg.ac.be
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Maquet
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Laureys
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Peigneux
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fuchs
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Petiau
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Phillips
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Aerts
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Del Fiore
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Degueldre
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Meulemans
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Luxen
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Franck
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Van Der Linden
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cleeremans
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001921:Brain / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000502:physiology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008568:Memory / Q000502:physiology*; D011930:Reaction Time; D012895:Sleep, REM / Q000502:physiology*; D014055:Tomography, Emission-Computed; D014851:Wakefulness / Q000502:physiology*