Research Aims
We investigate the functional role of sleep for memory consolidation in humans. One of our main research questions centers on understanding whether sleep serves to process memories in such a way as to predict future events and to adapt future behavior. On the mechanistic level, we study memory reactivation and reconsolidation processes during sleep using odor and auditory cues. In addition, we are interested in characterizing the functional role of specific neurotransmitters (such as glutamate and dopamine) as well as of specific sleep oscillations (such as slow oscillations and spindles) for sleep-dependent memory consolidation.