Odor cueing during sleep improves consolidation of a history lesson in a school setting

Sleep is a key factor in memory consolidation. During sleep, information is reactivated, transferred, and redistributed to neocortical areas, thus favoring memory consolidation and integration. Although these reactivations occur spontaneously, they can also be induced using external cues, such as sound or odor cues, linked to the acquired information. Hence, targeted memory reactivation during sleep represents an advantageous tool for improving memory consolidation in real-life settings. In this study, our goal was to improve the consolidation of complex information such as that of a history lesson, using a school study session in the presence of an odor, and a reactivation round while sleeping at home on the same night of the acquisition, without using additional study sessions. We found that complex information can be associated with an odor in the classroom and that one session of reactivation during the first night of sleep in the students’ houses improves its consolidation. These results bring new evidence for the implementation of reactivation during sleep in real-life settings.

睡眠是记忆巩固（memory consolidation）的关键因素。睡眠过程中，信息会被重新激活、转移并重新分配至新皮层区域，从而促进记忆巩固与整合。尽管此类重激活可自发发生，但也可通过与习得信息相关联的外部线索（如声音或气味线索）诱导产生。因此，睡眠期间的靶向记忆激活（targeted memory reactivation）是一种可在现实场景中改善记忆巩固的有效手段。本研究旨在借助课堂学习环节中伴随的气味刺激，以及信息习得当晚学生在家睡眠期间的一轮记忆重激活，在无需额外学习环节的前提下，改善历史课程等复杂信息的记忆巩固效果。研究发现，复杂信息可与课堂中的气味建立关联，且学生在家中第一晚睡眠期间的一轮重激活可有效提升其记忆巩固效果。本研究结果为在现实场景中应用睡眠期间的记忆重激活提供了新的实证支持。