Neuroscience letters
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Neuroscience letters · Jul 2020
Sensorimotor performance is improved by targeted memory reactivation during a daytime nap in healthy older adults.
Sensorimotor consolidation occurs during sleep. However, the benefit of sleep-based consolidation decreases with age due to decreased sleep quality and quantity. This study aimed to enhance sensorimotor performance through repetitive delivery of task-based auditory cues during sleep, known as targeted memory reactivation (TMR). ⋯ However, there was no generalization of throwing accuracy to variants of the task or to a novel dart throwing task. Findings support the use of TMR during sleep to enhance task-specific sensorimotor performance in healthy older adults despite age-related decreases in sleep quality and quantity. Future research is needed to evaluate the effects of TMR on rehabilitation protocols.