title: Sleep in children triggers rapid reorganization of memory-related brain processes.
abstract: Behavioral evidence shows that sleep is crucial for the consolidation of declarative memories in children as in adults. However, the underlying cerebral mechanisms remain virtually unexplored. Using magnetoencephalography, we investigated in children (8.0-12.5years) the impact of sleep (90-minute nap) on the neurophysiological processes underlying the creation and consolidation of novel associations between unknown objects and their functions. Learning-dependent changes in brain activity were observed within hippocampal and parahippocampal regions, followed by sleep-dependent changes in the prefrontal cortex, whereas no equivalent change was observed after a similar period of wakeful rest. Hence, our results show that in school-age children a 90-minute daytime nap after learning is sufficient to trigger the reorganization of memory-related brain activity toward prefrontal areas, where it incorporates into pre-existing semantic knowledge. This functional reorganization process in children is similar to that observed in adults but occurs at a much faster rate, which may contribute to the development of the impressive learning skills that characterize childhood.
authors.affiliation: UR2NF, Neuropsychology and Functional Neuroimaging Research Unit, Centre for Research in Cognition and Neurosciences (CRCN), ULB Neurosciences Institute, Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Bruxelles, Belgium; LCFC, Laboratoire de Cartographie Fonctionnelle du Cerveau, Erasme Hospital, ULB, Bruxelles, Belgium. Electronic address: curbain@ulb.ac.be.
authors.forename: Charline
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Urbain
authors.affiliation: LCFC, Laboratoire de Cartographie Fonctionnelle du Cerveau, Erasme Hospital, ULB, Bruxelles, Belgium.
authors.forename: Xavier
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: De Tiège
authors.affiliation: LCFC, Laboratoire de Cartographie Fonctionnelle du Cerveau, Erasme Hospital, ULB, Bruxelles, Belgium.
authors.forename: Marc
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Op De Beeck
authors.affiliation: LCFC, Laboratoire de Cartographie Fonctionnelle du Cerveau, Erasme Hospital, ULB, Bruxelles, Belgium; BCBL, Basque Center on Cognition, Brain and Language, 20009 San Sebastian, Spain; Department of Neuroscience and Biomedical Engineering and Aalto NeuroImaging, Aalto University School of Science, PO BOX 15100, 00076 AALTO, Espoo, Finland.
authors.forename: Mathieu
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bourguignon
authors.affiliation: LCFC, Laboratoire de Cartographie Fonctionnelle du Cerveau, Erasme Hospital, ULB, Bruxelles, Belgium.
authors.forename: Vincent
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Wens
authors.affiliation: BCBL, Basque Center on Cognition, Brain and Language, 20009 San Sebastian, Spain.
authors.forename: Denis
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Verheulpen
authors.affiliation: LCFC, Laboratoire de Cartographie Fonctionnelle du Cerveau, Erasme Hospital, ULB, Bruxelles, Belgium; Department of Pediatric Neurology, Erasme Hospital, ULB, Bruxelles, Belgium.
authors.forename: Patrick
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Van Bogaert
authors.affiliation: UR2NF, Neuropsychology and Functional Neuroimaging Research Unit, Centre for Research in Cognition and Neurosciences (CRCN), ULB Neurosciences Institute, Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Bruxelles, Belgium. Electronic address: philippe.peigneux@ulb.ac.be.
authors.forename: Philippe
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Peigneux
mesh_terms: D001931:Brain Mapping; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011939:Mental Recall / Q000502:physiology*; D009415:Nerve Net / Q000502:physiology; D009473:Neuronal Plasticity / Q000502:physiology*; D017397:Prefrontal Cortex / Q000502:physiology*; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology; D012890:Sleep / Q000502:physiology*; D014706:Verbal Learning / Q000502:physiology*; D014851:Wakefulness / Q000502:physiology*
keywords: Children; Consolidation; Hippocampus; MEG; Nap