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The brain is able to remember foreign words in a dream

19.06.2023

Recent studies by scientists at the University of Bern have confirmed an interesting feature of the brain: the ability to remember foreign words during sleep. The legend that sleep can promote more effective learning has received scientific support, although scientists remain skeptical of this claim. However, there is some evidence that the brain is able to process and store information received in certain phases of sleep.

Researchers have focused on slow wave sleep, especially its first phase. At this point, the brain goes through short periods of activity and recession that last about 30 seconds. A team of scientists led by Flavio Schmidig has developed an algorithm that predicts the exact timing of the next peak and fall of brain waves based on EEG data. This algorithm was used to conduct experiments on 30 volunteers who slept in the laboratory and were native German speakers.

During the experiment, volunteers were played short two-syllable words. One word sounded in their one ear in German, and the "translation" of this word, which is a random collection of syllables that do not exist in reality, sounded in the other ear. This approach excluded the possible influence of previous acquaintance with foreign languages. Half of the volunteers listened to these words during peaks in brain activity, and the other half during periods of recession. In total, each word was played four times, and the choice of words covered three categories: animals, places, and instruments.

After 12 hours, the effectiveness of this training was tested. The volunteers were again played the "translated" word and asked to assign it to one of three categories. As expected, with a random response, the probability of the correct choice was about 33 percent, and this is exactly the result of the group that listened to the words during the peaks of brain activity. The second group, which listened to the words during periods of recession, scored slightly higher at 37 percent, which is almost no different from random guessing. However, when rechecked 24 hours later, this group performed better, reaching 41 percent correct answers.

Statistical analysis confirmed that these results cannot be a simple random phenomenon. The researchers concluded that memory actually occurs when words are recalled during short bursts of brain activity during the initial period of deep sleep. However, the effect of this memorization turned out to be moderate, and its significance in learning remains relatively small. Rather, it demonstrates the very fact that the brain is able to perceive and store new information during sleep, but it is unlikely that this will be a significant help in the educational process.

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