EFFECTS OF AGING AND SLEEP ON SCHEMA FORMATION AND MEMORY INTEGRATION

Abstract

While learning, the brain establishes complex memory networks that greatly influence how we learn new information. In the current thesis, roles of aging and sleep were explored as key factors modulating the formation and adaptation of schemas, using a complete schema-learning paradigm. Critically, it was found that schema-driven memory benefits were preserved into late adulthood, informing the current cognitive aging theories, and providing additional evidence that tapping into prior knowledge structures could facilitate learning across the life-span. In addition, the findings shed further light on the role of sleep in the consolidation and transformation of schema-related memoranda. A split sleep schedule incorporating a 90-minute nap, benefitted schema adaptation with superior performance for the transformed, and extended schema-related memoranda. Notably, the schema benefit on learning additional new items and their restudy was associated with higher spindle density, supporting the role of sleep spindles as a facilitator of schema-related memory integration.