AUTHOR=Fogel Stuart , Martin Nicolas , Lafortune Marjolaine , Barakat Marc , Debas Karen , Laventure Samuel , Latreille Véronique , Gagnon Jean-François , Doyon Julien , Carrier Julie 

TITLE=NREM Sleep Oscillations and Brain Plasticity in Aging

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Neurology

VOLUME=3

YEAR=2012

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/neurology/articles/10.3389/fneur.2012.00176

DOI=10.3389/fneur.2012.00176

ISSN=1664-2295

ABSTRACT=<p>The human electroencephalogram (EEG) during non-rapid eye movement sleep (NREM) is characterized mainly by high-amplitude (&gt;75 μV), slow-frequency (&lt;4 Hz) waves (slow waves), and sleep spindles (∼11–15 Hz; &gt;0.25 s). These NREM oscillations play a crucial role in brain plasticity, and importantly, NREM sleep oscillations change considerably with aging. This review discusses the association between NREM sleep oscillations and cerebral plasticity as well as the functional impact of age-related changes on NREM sleep oscillations. We propose that age-related reduction in sleep-dependent memory consolidation may be due in part to changes in NREM sleep oscillations.</p>