Sleep and memory

The relationship between sleep and memory has been studied since at least the early 19th century. Memory, the cognitive process of storing and retrieving past experiences, learning and recognition, is a product of brain plasticity, the structural changes within synapses that create associations between stimuli. Stimuli are encoded within milliseconds; however, the long-term maintenance of memories can take additional minutes, days, or even years to fully consolidate and become a stable memory that is accessible.

Therefore, the formation of a specific memory occurs rapidly, but the evolution of a memory is often an ongoing process.

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Source: Wikipedia · Image: Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0

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