Assessment of Unconsciousness for Memory Consolidation Using EEG Signals
This research addresses the challenge of understanding unconsciousness and its role in memory consolidation for neuroscience, though it is incremental as it builds on limited prior work in this area.
The study tackled the problem of assessing unconsciousness in relation to memory consolidation by analyzing EEG signals during naps, finding that spindle power in specific brain regions positively correlated with location memory performance, and various connectivity measures negatively correlated with memory tasks.
The assessment of consciousness and unconsciousness is a challenging issue in modern neuroscience. Consciousness is closely related to memory consolidation in that memory is a critical component of conscious experience. So far, many studies have been reported on memory consolidation during consciousness, but there is little research on memory consolidation during unconsciousness. Therefore, we aim to assess the unconsciousness in terms of memory consolidation using electroencephalogram signals. In particular, we used unconscious state during a nap; because sleep is the only state in which consciousness disappears under normal physiological conditions. Seven participants performed two memory tasks (word-pairs and visuo-spatial) before and after the nap to assess the memory consolidation during unconsciousness. As a result, spindle power in central, parietal, occipital regions during unconsciousness was positively correlated with the performance of location memory. With the memory performance, there was also a negative correlation between delta connectivity and word-pairs memory, alpha connectivity and location memory, and spindle connectivity and word-pairs memory. We additionally observed the significant relationship between unconsciousness and brain changes during memory recall before and after the nap. These findings could help present new insights into the assessment of unconsciousness by exploring the relationship with memory consolidation.