Cortical plasticity: learning while you sleep?
Sleep has been suggested to facilitate memory consolidation or learning, but there has been little direct evidence of a link between synaptic plasticity and sleep. A recent study suggests a role for sleep in the plastic changes that the visual cortex undergoes in response to occlusion of one eye early in life.
Sengpiel
F
F
Cardiff School of Biosciences, Museum Avenue, P.O. Box 911, Cardiff CF10 3US, UK. SengpielF@cf.ac.uk
D000818:Animals; D002415:Cats; D023882:Dominance, Ocular; D006801:Humans; D007858:Learning / Q000502:physiology; D008297:Male; D009473:Neuronal Plasticity / Q000502:physiology*; D012683:Sensory Deprivation / Q000502:physiology; D012890:Sleep / Q000502:physiology*; D013997:Time Factors; D014793:Visual Cortex / Q000502:physiology*; D014796:Visual Perception