This study examines longitudinal changes in sleep EEG biomarkers of memory consolidation in middle-aged and older adults, finding declines in SO-sigma coupling and sleep spindle measures linked to synaptic integrity and memory decline.

bioRxiv · May 14, 2026 · PreprintNeuroscience

Engagement in moderate-intensity physical activity supports overnight emotional memory retention in older adults

Miranda G Chappel-Farley, Destiny E. Berisha, Abhishek Dave, Rachel M. Sanders, Christopher E. Kline, John C. Janecek, Negin S. Sattari, Kitty K. Lui, Ivy Y. Chen, Ariel B. Neikrug, Ruth M. Benca, Michael A. Yassa, Bryce A. Mander

This study finds that moderate-intensity physical activity improves overnight emotional memory retention in older adults, with benefits from both frequency and duration of activity.

bioRxiv · Aug 16, 2024 · PreprintNeuroscience

Cerebrovascular pathology mediates associations between hypoxemia during rapid eye movement sleep and medial temporal lobe structure and function in older adults

Destiny E. Berisha, Batool M. Rizvi, Miranda G Chappel-Farley, Nicholas James Tustison, Lisa Taylor, Abhishek Dave, Negin S. Sattari, Ivy Y. Chen, Kitty K. Lui, John C. Janecek, David B. Keator, Ariel B. Neikrug, Ruth M. Benca, Michael A. Yassa, Bryce A. Mander

The paper shows cerebrovascular pathology mediates the link between REM sleep hypoxemia and entorhinal cortical thickness, which is associated with impaired memory in older adults.

bioRxiv · Jan 28, 2024 · PreprintNeuroscience

Medial temporal lobe functional network architecture supports sleep-related emotional memory processing in older adults

Miranda G Chappel-Farley, Jenna N. Adams, Richard F. Betzel, John C. Janecek, Negin S. Sattari, Destiny E. Berisha, Novelle J. Meza, Hamid Niknazar, Soyun Kim, Abhishek Dave, Ivy Y. Chen, Kitty K. Lui, Ariel B. Neikrug, Ruth M. Benca, Michael A. Yassa, Bryce A. Mander

This study examines how network integration and centrality in the medial temporal lobe during NREM sleep relate to emotional memory retention in older adults.

bioRxiv · Oct 27, 2023 · PreprintNeuroscience

Human REM sleep controls neural excitability in support of memory formation

Janna D. Lendner, Bryce A. Mander, Sigrid Schuh‐Hofer, Hannah Schmidt, Robert Thomas Knight, Matthew P. Walker, Jack J. Lin, Randolph F. Helfrich

This study shows REM sleep recalibrates excitation/inhibition balance, predicting memory consolidation success in humans.

bioRxiv · May 13, 2022 · PreprintNeuroscience

Coupling between slow-waves and sharp-wave ripples organizes distributed neural activity during sleep in humans

Ivan Skelin, Haoxin Zhang, Jie Zheng, Shiting Ma, Bryce A. Mander, Olivia Kim McManus, Sumeet Vadera, Robert Thomas Knight, Bruce L. McNaughton, Jack J. Lin

This study examines how hippocampal sharp-wave ripples and slow-waves interact to coordinate neural activity during sleep in humans.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · May 17, 2021Peer-reviewedNeuroscience

An Electrophysiological Marker of Arousal Level in Humans

Janna D. Lendner, Randolph F. Helfrich, Bryce A. Mander, Luis Georg Romundstad, Jack J. Lin, Matthew P. Walker, Pål G. Larsson, Robert Thomas Knight

The paper identifies the 1/f spectral slope as an electrophysiological marker that distinguishes wakefulness from sleep and anesthesia by reflecting changes in excitation-inhibition balance.

eLife · Jul 28, 2020Peer-reviewedNeuroscience