送交者: Wood 于 2005-10-24, 12:58:48:
Sleep inspires insight
Nature 427, 352-355 (22 January 2004) | doi: 10.1038/nature02223
Ullrich Wagner1, Steffen Gais1, Hilde Haider2, Rolf Verleger3 and Jan Born1
1. Department of Neuroendocrinology, University of L黚eck, Ratzeburger Allee 160, 23538
L黚eck, Germany
2. Institute of Psychology, University of Cologne, Gronewaldstrasse 2, 50931 Cologne, Germany
3. Department of Neurology, University of L黚eck, Ratzeburger Allee 160, 23538 L黚eck,
Germany
Abstract
Insight denotes a mental restructuring that leads to a sudden gain of explicit knowledge allowing
qualitatively changed behaviour1, 2. Anecdotal reports on scientific discovery suggest that pivotal
insights can be gained through sleep3. Sleep consolidates recent memories4, 5, 6 and, concomitantly,
could allow insight by changing their representational structure. Here we show a facilitating role of
sleep in a process of insight. Subjects performed a cognitive task requiring the learning of
stimulus−response sequences, in which they improved gradually by increasing response speed
across task blocks. However, they could also improve abruptly after gaining insight into a hidden
abstract rule underlying all sequences. Initial training establishing a task representation was
followed by 8 h of nocturnal sleep, nocturnal wakefulness, or daytime wakefulness. At subsequent
retesting, more than twice as many subjects gained insight into the hidden rule after sleep as after
wakefulness, regardless of time of day. Sleep did not enhance insight in the absence of initial
training. A characteristic antecedent of sleep-related insight was revealed in a slowing of reaction
times across sleep. We conclude that sleep, by restructuring new memory representations,
facilitates extraction of explicit knowledge and insightful behaviour.