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Citation |
Rickard TC, Cai DJ, Rieth CA, Jones JCH, Ard MC. J. Exp. Psychol. Learn. Mem. Cogn. 2008; 34(4): 834-842. |
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Affiliation |
Department of Psychology, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA. trickard@ucsd.edu |
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Copyright |
(Copyright © 2008, American Psychological Association) |
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DOI |
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PMID |
18605872 |
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Abstract |
Improvements in motor sequence performance have been observed after a delay involving sleep. This finding has been taken as evidence for an active sleep consolidation process that enhances subsequent performance. In a review of this literature, however, the authors observed 4 aspects of data analyses and experimental design that could lead to improved performance on the test in the absence of any sleep consolidation: (a) masking of learning effects in the averaged data, (b) masking of reactive inhibition effects in the averaged training data, (c) time-of-day and time-since-sleep confounds, and (d) a gradual buildup of fatigue over the course of massed (i.e., concentrated) training. In 2 experiments the authors show that when these factors are controlled for, or when their effects are substantially reduced, the sleep enhancement effect is eliminated. Whereas sleep may play a role in protection from forgetting of motor skills, it does not result in performance enhancement. Language: en |