Storing memories before bedtime.A good night's sleep may help your brain permanently file away lessons learned during the day. But, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. a new study, the brain begins processing and storing those memories long before it's time It's Time was a successful political campaign run by the Australian Labor Party (ALP) under Gough Whitlam at the 1972 election in Australia. Campaigning on the perceived need for change after 23 years of conservative (Liberal Party of Australia) government, Labor put forward a for bed--and continues to do so even while you're you're Contraction of you are. you're you are you're be thinking about and doing other things. Recent studies have shown that the parts of the brain that we use to learn a task become active again during sleep. This activity, scientists suggest, could be the brain transferring memories from short-term Short-term Any investments with a maturity of one year or less. short-term 1. Of or relating to a gain or loss on the value of an asset that has been held less than a specified period of time. to long-term Long-term Three or more years. In the context of accounting, more than 1 year. long-term 1. Of or relating to a gain or loss in the value of a security that has been held over a specific length of time. Compare short-term. storage (see "Memories Are Made with Sleep"). But the brain doesn't necessarily wait until the lights are out to begin processing those memories. To find out how the brain handles memories during waking hours, scientists gave 15 volunteers two tasks, each requiring different parts of the brain to learn. In one task, the subjects learned how to navigate (1) "Surfing the Web." To move from page to page on the Web. (2) To move through the menu structure in a software application. a virtual town and then searched the town for an object. In the second task, they learned to predict where a sequence of dots would appear on a screen. Using a special machine, the researchers scanned the volunteers' brains right before and right after the tasks. They compared the two images to see whether the regions of the brain involved in learning the task were still active even after the task was completed. After a break, the scientists took a third image of each participant's brain. They wanted to determine whether these regions in the brain continued to be active after more time had passed. They discovered that, for at least an hour after learning a task, the brain stays active. It appears to continue processing the new information. Furthermore, the images showed that distracting dis·tract tr.v. dis·tract·ed, dis·tract·ing, dis·tracts 1. To cause to turn away from the original focus of attention or interest; divert. 2. To pull in conflicting emotional directions; unsettle. the subjects doesn't affect their ability to store memories. The processing continues even when they're thinking about or doing other things. Some scientists say this could mean that sleep isn't essential for storing memories. Others disagree. Until that's settled, it's probably still better to be on the safe side, getting plenty of sleep. http://www.sciencenewsforkids.org/articles/20060405/Note2.asp |
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