Sleep and memory
Our research investigates brain plasticity, focusing specifically on the changes in behaviour and neural activity which occur after initial learning. We are particularly interested in ‘off-line’ consolidation, or changes occurring while a memory is not being encoded, practiced or recalled. These can happen both during sleep and during wakefulness.
Current interests in the lab fall into three main categories, consolidation of:
Techniques
We use PSG, fMRI and behavioural measures.
For further details, see: Facilities
PhD opportunities
We are looking for PhD students. See our general areas of interest (above) as well as formal PhD projects (via link below):
People in the group
| Name | Job title | Email address |
|---|---|---|
| Penny Lewis | Lecturer | P.Lewis@manchester.ac.uk |
| Scott Cairney | PhD student | Scott.Cairney@postgrad.manchester.ac.uk |
| James Cousins | PhD student | james.cousins@postgrad.manchester.ac.uk |
| Nora Hennies | PhD student | nora.hennies@postgrad.manchester.ac.uk |
| Rebecca Power | PhD student | rebecca.power-2@postgrad.manchester.ac.uk |
See also: Undergraduate trainees
Lab alumni
- Simon Durrant
- Jakke Tamminen
Events
- Weekly Journal Club
5.00 pm on Tuesdays, Room T1, Zochonis Building - Monthly Cafe Scientifique
6.00 pm on the last Wednesday of every month at KROBAR on Oxford Road
All welcome
Cafe Scientifique Manchester
- Guest Lecture: 'Reactivation and reorganisation of memory during sleep' - Susanne Diekelmann, Leubeck
9 February 2012 - Guest Lecture: 'The dream lag effect' - Professor Mark Blagrove, Swansea
23 January 2012 - Symposium on Sleep and Memory Consolidation
9 July 2010
Symposium programme (PDF, 9 KB) - Guest lecture: 'Why Sleep' by Professor Jim Horne
Monday 13 July 2009 - Guest lectures: Gareth Gaskell and Atsuko Takashima
Thursday 5 February 2009 - UCL workshop: 'Learning in your sleep'
Programme (PDF, 16KB)
Facilities
We are the proud owners of a brand new two-bed sleep lab, complete with two full N7000 polysomnography (PSG) systems from Embla and a number of dedicated sleep-monitoring computers with full licenses to the latest Somnologica software.
Funding
Collaborators
The lab collaborates extensively with the
- Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience at University College London
- Surrey Sleep Research Centre
- Sleep and Neuroimaging Lab at Berkeley
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