Targeted memory reactivation in human REM sleep elicits detectable reactivation

Abstract

Several studies show that memories are reactivated during non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep, but the question of whether equivalent reactivation can be detected in rapid eye movement (REM) sleep is hotly debated. To examine this, we used a technique called targeted memory reactivation (TMR) in which sounds are paired with learned material in wake, and then re-presented in subsequent sleep to trigger reactivation. We then used machine learning classifiers to identify reactivation in REM related to the encoded wake activity. The reactivation we measured was mediated by high theta activity and was sometimes temporally compressed and sometimes dilated compared to wakeful experience. Reactivation strength positively predicted overnight performance improvement. These findings provide the first evidence for wake-like memory reactivation in human REM sleep after TMR.