2025-06-26 –, Underground, p10
Previous research has indicated that sleep promotes memory consolidation. Further, it has
often been suggested that sleep mainly consolidates emotional memories, and that sleep
reduces the emotional reactivity associated with aversive experiences. Recent meta-analyses
have, however, revealed that previous studies on this topic have been strongly underpowered,
and that selective publishing of positive findings is a major problem in the field. We aim to
remedy this through a pre-registered, well-powered, multi-lab collaboration study in which we
will examine A) whether sleep, compared to wake, increases memory consolidation, B)
whether this putative sleep-dependent consolidation benefit is more pronounced for negative
compared to neutral stimuli, C) whether sleep, to a larger degree than time spent awake, decreases
emotional reactions to previously viewed negative images, and D) whether any sleep stage
will be particularly associated to either memory consolidation or in decreasing emotional
responses.
