| NSF Org: |
BCS Division of Behavioral and Cognitive Sciences |
| Recipient: |
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| Initial Amendment Date: | May 31, 2018 |
| Latest Amendment Date: | July 24, 2018 |
| Award Number: | 1749332 |
| Award Instrument: | Continuing Grant |
| Program Manager: |
Soo-Siang Lim
slim@nsf.gov (703)292-7878 BCS Division of Behavioral and Cognitive Sciences SBE Directorate for Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences |
| Start Date: | June 1, 2018 |
| End Date: | May 31, 2021 (Estimated) |
| Total Intended Award Amount: | $109,815.00 |
| Total Awarded Amount to Date: | $109,815.00 |
| Funds Obligated to Date: |
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| History of Investigator: |
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| Recipient Sponsored Research Office: |
101 COMMONWEALTH AVE AMHERST MA US 01003-9252 (413)545-0698 |
| Sponsor Congressional District: |
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| Primary Place of Performance: |
419 Tobin Hall, 135 Hicks Way Amherst MA US 01003-9242 |
| Primary Place of
Performance Congressional District: |
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| Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): |
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| Parent UEI: |
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| NSF Program(s): | Science of Learning |
| Primary Program Source: |
01001920DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT 01002021DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT |
| Program Reference Code(s): |
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| Program Element Code(s): |
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| Award Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Fund Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Assistance Listing Number(s): | 47.075 |
ABSTRACT
Naps benefit learning and memory in young children. However, children transition out of naps during preschool years. Whether naps should be encouraged in preschools, or eliminated to provide more time for early learning, is not clear. The overarching objective of this proposed research is to examine the role of sleep and brain development on memory during early childhood, specifically as children transition out of naps. The central hypothesis of this proposal is that maturation of memory-related brain regions during this transitional developmental period results in more information being retained in memory without interference. This in turn reduces the need for frequent consolidation, which, ultimately, underlies the transition out of naps. This research will deepen understanding of how sleep benefits learning and memory in healthy children, providing benefit to healthy child care, pre-school education, and children with developmental and mental disorders.
Sleep-dependent memory consolidation is thought to reflect transfer of memories from the hippocampus to the cerebral cortex. Although we have previously documented changes in memory performance as a result of sleep-dependent consolidation in young children, the neural mechanisms supporting this process have yet to be examined. This gap is problematic as memory and the hippocampal-cortical network both undergo significant developmental change during this period. Our goal is to identify the mechanistic pathway through which brain development and sleep physiology underlie changes in memory during childhood development. To accomplish this, we will obtain measures of brain structure, brain function, sleep physiology, and memory. We hypothesize that age-related changes in the development of the brain and sleep physiology will result in larger and stronger memories. Likewise, we expect increased hippocampal functional connectivity to allow for more efficient memory transfer with sleep, and will be associated with changes in slow wave sleep. We will use models to test the hypothesis that changes in hippocampal structure will precede changes in hippocampal function; these combined changes will lead to changes in sleep patterns; and that improved sleep will improve memory.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
PROJECT OUTCOMES REPORT
Disclaimer
This Project Outcomes Report for the General Public is displayed verbatim as submitted by the Principal Investigator (PI) for this award. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this Report are those of the PI and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation; NSF has not approved or endorsed its content.
Summary: Naps benefit learning and memory in young children. However, children transition out of naps during the preschool years (~3-5 years). The overarching objective of this collaborative research is to examine the role of sleep and hippocampal development in memory during early childhood, specifically when children transition out of naps. To this end, we examined sleep time and physiology as well as memory and brain measures longitudinally in a sample of children who were napping at the time of enrollment. 54 children completed wave 1, 44 completed wave 2, and 31 completed wave 3. These data have provided support for the proposed relationship between sleep transitions and brain development, understanding the timing of nap transitions, and demonstrate feasibility of a longitudinal study of sleep physiology and neural assessment of early childhood. Importantly, our work also served as an excellent training ground for those involved in the work. Note: This is a closeout for the Collaborative Research at UMass Amherst. Data collection continues under a no cost extension at the University of Maryland under MPI Riggins.
Accomplishments – Intellectual Merit: Results suggest habitual sleep is associated with source memory in 4- to 8-year-old children and with hippocampal subfield volume in 4- to 6-year-old children (Riggins & Spencer, 2020). We adapted to pandemic-related interruptions of this longitudinal study, by collecting behavioral data and actigraphic-measures of sleep remotely; however this sacrificed MRI and sleep physiology data collection in later waves. Nonetheless, preliminary results provide further support for relations between memory, brain volumes and sleep physiology. For example, we find differences in volume of the left hippocampal head in 3- to 4-year-old nappers compared to 3- to 4-year-old non-nappers (and that hippocampal volume is related to memory performance. In terms of sleep physiology, preliminary analyses suggest the ratio of frontal to occipital slow wave activity and sleep spindle density were related to memory. Finally, preliminary analyses also suggest hippocampal volume is related to sleep spindle density and left parahippocampal thickness is related to memory. These results support our overarching hypothesis and provide critical details for future work.
Accomplishments – Broader Impacts: This research provides an excellent training ground, exposing trainees to an array of neuroscience tools including MRI, EEG, and behavioral assessments as well as actigraphy. This part of the collaborative project has supported 2 conference poster/platform presentations, providing scientific conference experience for 1 graduate and 1 undergraduate student. Additionally, the PIs have presented at many community events, disseminating sleep science and science of early learning to community venues, including parenting groups, early childhood teachers, and media outlets. PI Spencer has traveled to UMD to present to the Riggins lab twice during this period, and 2 staff from the Spencer lab have gone to UMD to train on techniques. The labs have also held joint journal clubs via teleconference. The work has resulted in 5 publications including 3 review papers reflecting the intellectual development of this concept that we shifted to when testing was restricted at the height of the pandemic.
Last Modified: 09/08/2021
Modified by: Rebecca Spencer
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