Sleep is essential for health and plays a vital role in learning and memory. Information acquired while awake can be integrated into neuronal networks by being reactivated and reorganized during slow-wave sleep (SWS) and strengthened during REM sleep, which occurs in a cyclic manner. Studies have proposed that neurochemical and structural changes in neuronal connectivity that occur across sleep stages and wake state as the mechanisms by which sleep modulates memory consolidation. Therefore, sleep deprivation, either by spending less time sleeping in total, in a specific sleep stage or even disturbances in sleep architecture can have negative consequences on memory consolidation. Furthermore, sleep deprivation has cognitive impacts on the next day's learning, affecting focus, decision-making skills, as well as behavior control.
Besides, the sleep-wake rhythm is controlled by homeostatic processes and circadian oscillators that are synchronized with the light/dark cycle. When there is a disruption in that synchronization, caused by trans meridional travel, shift work, etc, chronic sleep debt may occur and impact cognitive performance, including learning and memory consolidation processes.

Sleep architecture also changes across lifespan and even healthy older adults have shifts in sleep timing and poor sleep quality, with difficulties in sleep maintenance. Those changes are even greater when mental disorders are present. For example, people with anxiety disorders may enter a hyperarousal state due to excessive worrying and develop insomnia. Similarly, many individuals with depression often exhibit symptoms of insomnia.
Since insufficient sleep in the elderly can impact learning and memory, affecting healthy aging, more studies are needed to figure out the extension and amplitude of the effects in aging subjects.

While disruptions in sleep-wake rhythms due to various factors such as shift work or aging can lead to chronic sleep debt and cognitive impairment, studies pose challenges as it is difficult to selectively deprive individuals of a specific sleep stage, and animal models' studies face methodological challenges in selectively inducing sleep deprivation without confounding stress-induced effects produced for instance by gentle handling, walking wheel, or the flowerpot technique. There is indeed the need to develop and apply novel methodological approaches to selectively discern the effects of sleep deprivation and discriminate with stress-induced effects moving towards a more accurate recognition of the effects in experimental settings.

Despite these limitations, research on pharmacological interventions such as melatonin shows promise in mitigating the cognitive impacts of sleep deprivation. For instance, melatonin has been shown to attenuate sleep deprivation effects by normalizing antioxidant mechanisms, regulating clock genes, and suppressing ferroptosis in the hippocampus. However, studies in humans are still scarce and inconclusive.

This Research Topic aims to deepen our understanding of how sleep deprivation affects cognitive processes, including learning, attention, acquisition, consolidation, and retrieval of memory-related experiences. The objective is to explore the exact mechanisms by which sleep and sleep deprivation influence these cognitive processes. By addressing these questions, the research seeks to provide insights into the broader implications of sleep on cognitive health and performance.

To gather further insights into the impact of sleep deprivation on cognitive processes, we welcome articles addressing, but not limited to, the following themes.

· SWS/REM sleep disturbance in learning and memory.
· Impacts of sleep disturbances on neuronal mechanisms involved in memory consolidation.
· Circadian disruption and effects on learning and memory.
· Physiological (meeting demands) sleep and its role in memory consolidation.
· Evidence from hippocampal–neocortical interactions during sleep in linking to memory consolidation.
· Sleep deprivation and memory in aging.
· Current approaches to induce sleep deprivation and assess its effects on learning and memory.
· Approaches to enhance memory consolidation through sleep.
· Strategies to prevent memory impairment caused by sleep deprivation.

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Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience

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