In this episode, we talk to Professor Wenbiao Gan from the Neuroscience and Physiology and Skirball Institute at New York University School of Medicine.

Professor Gan tells us about how he started to become interested in studying sleep and its impact on learning and memory.

He talks about intriguing and hands-on ways to assess the formation and elimination of dendritic spines in  the mouse cortex, and how different experimental tasks like running backwards on a treadmill influence spine formation with or without sleep. Some counterintuitive results are presented and Professor Gan also shares his perspective on the synaptic homeostasis hypothesis.

In the end, Professor Gan gives some thoughts about the future of sleep research and suggests new methods of improvement in the area.

If you would like to find out more, here is a link to Professor Gan's full list of publications:

Links to  the studies mentioned in the podcast:

• REM sleep promotes experience-dependent dendritic spine elimination in the mouse cortex
• Fear extinction reverses dendritic spine formation induced by fear conditioning in the mouse auditory cortex
• REM sleep selectively prunes and maintains new synapses in development and learning
• Experience‐dependent plasticity of dendritic spines of layer 2/3 pyramidal neurons in the mouse cortex
• Two-photon microscopy as a tool to investigate the therapeutic time window of methylprednisolone in a mouse spinal cord injury model
• Sleep contributes to dendritic spine formation and elimination in the developing mouse somatosensory cortex

Glossary of terms 

• (synaptic) pruning = a natural phase in the development of the nervous system during which connections between neurons that are no longer needed die off
•  dendrites = tree-like extensions of the neuron
•  dendritic spines = extensions of a dendrite that help receive information from other neurons
• synaptic homeostasis = the idea that neural synapses cannot keep strengthening forever.  Instead, they must also downscale at some point in order to make space for further strengthening.  Such downscaling can be done in a relative manner that preserves information coded by the synapses in question.  

Episode produced by Bianca Strete and Sophie Smith 

Check out our NaPS website to find out more about the podcast, our research and events.

This recording is the property of the Sleep Science Podcast and not for resale.

In this episode, we interviewed Colin Espie, one of the world’s leading authorities on sleep and insomnia. Colin is Professor in Sleep Medicine at the University of Oxford, and  Clinical Director of the Experimental & Clinical Sleep Medicine Programme, Sleep & Circadian Neurosciences Institute, again at the University of Oxford.  

Professor Espie talks about sleep problems, explains why actively focusing on getting more sleep is not the best way to combat these issues.  He also argues that behavioural approaches are much more effective even though clinicians tend to prescribe medicine by default. He has solid plans for changing the treatment of insomnia in the future and has already made a flying start eleven years ago by launching Sleepio, the online sleep clinic.  Find out more about how Sleepio works and how can you register today by listening to this episode.

If you would like to have a look at the Sleepio website, you can do it by clicking here. You can also click here to find out more about Prof. Espie and read through recent publications mentioned in this podcast.

A new edition of Prof. Espie's book Overcoming Insomnia: A self-help guide using cognitive behavioural techniques, published by Little Brown Book Group will be released in late September.

This recording is property of the sleep science podcast and not for resale.

Glossary 

·       Hypermetabolised (brain) = having an elevated energy expenditure 

·       Hyperarousal = abnormal state of increased responsiveness to stimuli

·       Chronotype = one’s natural inclination to sleep and be active at certain times of the day

·       CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy) = form of therapy aimed to improve mental health mainly through emotional regulation and developing coping mechanisms

·       Sleep Restriction Therapy = a CBT therapy that works to decrease variability in the timing of sleep while increasing the depth of sleep

 
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Episode produced by Bianca Strete & Sophie Smith 

Check out our NaPS website to find out more about the podcast, our research and events.

This recording is the property of the Sleep Science Podcast and not for resale.

In this episode,  we talk to Professor Tore Nielsen from the University of Montreal and Professor Mark Blagrove from Swansea University.

In part 2 of this two part episode, we carry on our discussion about nightmares and talk about Tore's work on imagery rehearsal. A process where the dreamer rehearses their nightmares finding solutions to them in waking life in order to reduce stress and anxiety around nightmares and find more control in their dream life.

Then we move on to lucid dreaming and how this differs from imagery rehearsal. We take a look at Mark's work on how lucid dreamers have more control in their waking life and go on to discuss the possibly positive and negative effects lucid dreams may have on our REM dreams.

Finally, we discuss work from both  guests on the dream-lag effect. This phenomenon, first discovered by Tore, occurs  when life events are incorporated into dreams the night after the event and also 5-7 days after, but not in between. We discuss how the dream-lag effect was discovered  and how it only appears to happen in REM dreams.  We also discuss what this may means biologically and what impact it may have on memory consolidation.

We hope you enjoy this episode!

If you haven't already listened to it, part 1 of this episode is available on all podcast platforms.

If you would like to find out more about either Tore's or Mark's work, check out the links below.   Tore's page here and Mark's page here .

Here are links to some of the studies mentioned in the podcast:
       
        o Imagery Rehearsal 
        o Control in lucid dreamers
        o  Discovery of the dream-lag effect
        o  Replication of the dream-lag effect
        o  The dream lag-effect and significant personal events

Glossary of terms

Lucid Dreaming - This is a type of dreaming where the dreamer is aware they are dreaming. The dreamer in some cases can have  control over the dream content.

Metacognition - Where one is aware of their own thinking and thoughts.

Idiopathic - A disease or condition which seems to have no known cause or appears spontaneously. 

Dream-lag effect -  A phenomena  where life events are incorporated into dreams the night after the event and also 6-7 days after, but not in between. 

****If you think we need to add a term or two here, please let us know****. 

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Episode produced by Sophie Smith 

Check out our NaPS website to find out more about the podcast, our research and events.

This recording is the property of the Sleep Science Podcast and not for resale.

In this episode, we talk to Dr Tristan Bekinschtein from the Cambridge Consciousness and Cognition Lab and discuss his research looking into the boundary between consciousness and unconsciousness.
 
 We talk about his work in the loss of consciousness in vegetative state patients, sedation and sleep and his findings regarding brain markers which indicate when we change between these two states. We also discuss his research showing that people tend to neglect the left side of the world as they fall asleep and why this might be. We also talk about Tristan's other work in resilience and what makes our mind resilience to stressors such as poverty.
 
 If you'd like to find out more about Tristan's work you can find a link to his research page here and a link to the Cambridge Consciousness and Cognition Lab page here.

Here are links to some of the studies mentioned in the podcast:

        o P300 marker of consciousness
        o  Neglect of the left side of the world
        o Animal or Object? Differentiation of semantic words whilst asleep 

 Glossary of terms from the podcast

 P300 - Measured by electroencephalogram, this is a term for a spike response, occurring 300ms after an intended stimuli which is usually focused on by the participant. 
 
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Episode produced by Sophie Smith 

Check out our NaPS website to find out more about the podcast, our research and events.

This recording is the property of the Sleep Science Podcast and not for resale.

In this episode,  we talk to Professor Tore Nielsen from the University of Montreal and Professor Mark Blagrove from Swansea University.

In part 1 of this two part episode, we talk about how both our guests became interested in the world of sleep and dreams  and then discuss what we actually dream about, from emotional REM dreams to non-rem dreams. We also talk about the different methods of collecting dream reports and the positives and negatives of these methods.

We go on to discuss Tore's  fear extinction theory of nightmares, which proposes we dream about our fears in order to make them less frightening. We also explore the sensitivity theory which suggests more sensitive people have more nightmares when they are stressed.

If you would like to find out more about either Tore's or Mark's work, you can find the links to the pages below.
Tore's page here and Mark's page here .

Here are links to some of the studies mentioned in the podcast:
       
        o  Fear Extinction Model of Nightmares
        o  Smelling and Tasting in our dreams
        o  Emotions in our dreams
        o  Susceptibility framework

Glossary of terms 

Lucid Dreaming - This is a type of dreaming where the dreamer is aware they are dreaming. The dreamer in some cases can have  control over the dream content.

Metacognition - Where one is aware of their own thinking and thoughts.

Alexithymia - Term used to describe difficulty in describing one's own emotions and  feelings. 

****If you think we need to add a term or two here, please let us know****. 

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Episode produced by Sophie Smith 

Check out our NaPS website to find out more about the podcast, our research and events.

This recording is the property of the Sleep Science Podcast and not for resale.

In this episode, we talk to Dr Tristan Bekinschtein from the Cambridge Consciousness and Cognition Lab and discuss his research looking into the boundary between consciousness and unconsciousness.
 
 We talk about his work in the loss of consciousness in vegetative state patients, sedation and sleep and his findings regarding brain markers which indicate when we change between these two states. We also discuss his research showing that people tend to neglect the left side of the world as they fall asleep and why this might be. We also talk about Tristan's other work in resilience and what makes our mind resilience to stressors such as poverty.
 
 If you'd like to find out more about Tristan's work you can find a link to his research page here and a link to the Cambridge Consciousness and Cognition Lab page here.

Here are links to some of the studies mentioned in the podcast:

         o P300 marker of consciousness
        o  Neglect of the left side of the world
          o Animal or Object? Differentiation of semantic words whilst asleep 

 
 Glossary of terms from the podcast

 P300 - Measured by electroencephalogram, this is a term for a spike response, occurring 300ms after an intended stimuli which is usually focused on by the participant. 
 
 
 
 
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Episode produced by Sophie Smith 

Today's episode is a little bit different. We're marking the end of our first season by roping in the rest of the NaPS lab to answer listeners' sleep-related questions. Thanks to everyone who sent questions in!


List of questions:

Why do we use the term ‘sleeping like a baby’ when babies don’t, in fact, sleep?
- From Jaime Jenkins

How do hormones affect sleep?
- From Beth Lee

Why do some people talk in their sleep?
– From Christopher Reynolds

Can meditation before bed help you have deeper sleep?
- From Lauren Finaldi

Why do we need to cycle through different sleep states multiple times per night i.e why isn’t it half the night slow wave sleep and half the night of REM sleep?
– from Laura Bojarskaite

How come we remember dreams some nights and other nights nothing at all?
- From Suzie Saad

Is an eye mask effective for better sleep?
- From Lauren Finaldi

What exactly is happening during sleep paralysis and why does this happen sometimes?
- From Brittany McCabe

Do animals dream?
- From Veronica Campe

Are all of your senses still activated in sleep?
- From Naasiha Kolia

Can you fall asleep faster when you listen to white noise before bed?
- From John Nicol

Check out our NaPS website to find out more about the podcast, our research and events.

This recording is the property of the Sleep Science Podcast and not for resale.

Have you ever wished you could control your dreams? In this episode we learn about new approaches letting people do exactly that. We also delve into important benefits lucid dreaming could have, such as helping reduce nightmares or helping process traumatic memories. In addition, we explore how lucid dreams provide a window into understanding consciousness and people's inner worlds, and touch on the symbolism often found in dreams.

This episode was produced by:  Dominic Carr

If you'd like to find out more about the guests featured in this episode or want to read up on their lucid dream induction study feel free to follow the links below:

• Michelle Carr
• Karen Konkoly 
• Lucid dreaming induction study 

Glossary of terms used in the episode:

Confabulation = mistaken or unintentionally fabricated memories.

Dream sign =  something you notice in a dream that helps you realize that you're dreaming.

Dream theme = dreams tend to fall into common themes, such as dreams about being chased,  flying,  or getting lost somewhere.

Dream work = discussing your dream and perhaps re-imagining a more positive ending.

Entrainment = when your brainwaves become synchronized to another rhythmic stimulus.

EOG = electrodes placed near the eyes that detect eye movements.

Intention setting = setting an objective to fulfill while dreaming, such as asking  a dream character a specific question.

Prospective memory = remembering you need to do something in the future.

Reality checking = asking yourself if you could be dreaming.

Check out our NaPS website to find out more about the podcast, our research and events.

This recording is the property of the Sleep Science Podcast and not for resale.

In this episode, we talk to Dr Daniel Bendor from University College London. Daniel's work focuses on rodent studies of place cells in the hippocampus. 

We discuss the phenomena of memory replay in which place cell activity mimics  patterns of activity that occurred while the rodent was performing a task in wake.  We also discuss how this process can be manipulated using targeted memory reactivation (TMR). 

From this we discuss how the TMR instead of triggering a reactivation of a memory could instead be biasing the brain to replay the memory which is cued. 

We go on to talk about the relationship between the cortex and hippocampus and discuss theories on the hippocampus training the cortex in putting together components  of memories and how this dialogue may take place. 

Throughout the episode, we discuss rodents as sleep models and the positives and limitations of using them compared to human/primate models.

Finally, we discuss links between TMR and brain washing and the possible worries this may cause. 

If you'd like to find out more about Daniel's work you can find a link to his university research profile.  Some key studies referenced in this episode below:

• Replay and TMR: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0960982219310358
• Enhance, Delete and Incept: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4058530/
• Biasing hippocampal replay: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22941111/
• Mapping the future: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1364661316000218

Glossary of terms from the podcast

Targeted Memory Reactivation (TMR) = the process of pairing sensory cues with learnt information to improve memory consolidation during sleep

Place cells = neurons in the hippocampus which fire when an animal is in a specific location, known as a place field.

Ground Truth = is empirical evidence or information collected from direct observation

Pattern Separation  = The differentiation of similar, overlapping neuronal activity into distinct, non-overlapping groups

Sharp Wave Ripples = waves seen in the hippocampus during sleep and rest

Engram =  a neuronal representation for the existence of  a memory

Type 1 error = known as a false positive , when a true hypothesis is rejected

Type 2 error = known as a false negative, when a false hypothesis is accepted

Spike-timing Dependent Plasticity  = the effect where the timing of neuronal spikes modifies a synapse in terms of magnitude and direction

Optogenetics = the process of modifying neurons so they can be activated and controlled directly by light



If you have any questions about this episode, any of other episodes or the topics we discuss, please let us know via our email [email protected] or contact us through our social media @SleepSciencePodcast


Produced by Sophie Smith 

Check out our NaPS website to find out more about the podcast, our research and events.

This recording is the property of the Sleep Science Podcast and not for resale.

In this episode, we talk to Professor Björn Rasch about the pioneering of a process called Targeted Memory Reactivation (TMR).

TMR is a tool which can be used to selectively consolidate learnt material during sleep by pairing it with sensory stimuli such as odours or sounds during learning.  This process can be used to manipulate memories during sleep and improve memory consolidation. We also discuss how TMR can interfere with consolidation and consider the pros and cons of this technique as a tool for memory manipulation.

We then go on to discuss some of Björn's other work, including how sleep can amplify the positive impacts of therapy, and how this process can be used help overcome problems like arachnophobia.

If you'd like to find out more about Björn's work you can find a link to his research page and to some key studies referenced in this episode below:

https://www3.unifr.ch/psycho/en/research/biopsy/

 Here are links to some of the studies mentioned in the podcast:

         o Targeted Memory Reactivation
         o Labile or Stable
         o Auditory Feedback and Memory cueing
         o Arachnophobia

         
Glossary of terms from the podcast

Labile  =  unstable or easy to change

Pattern Separation  = The differentiation of similar, overlapping neuronal activity into distinct, non-overlapping groups

Generalisation  = grouping of similar overlapping information to a general output

Engram = a neuronal representation for the existence of  a memory

Salience = of importance

Closed Loop Auditory Stimulation  (CLAS)  = the method of using click sounds during sleep to enhance slow oscillations



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Episode produced by Penny Lewis and Sophie Smith 

Check out our NaPS website to find out more about the podcast, our research and events.

This recording is the property of the Sleep Science Podcast and not for resale.