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Nap-dependent learning in infants
Article first published online: 6 APR 2009
DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-7687.2009.00837.x
© 2009 The Authors. Journal compilation © 2009 Blackwell Publishing Ltd
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How to Cite
Hupbach, A., Gomez, R. L., Bootzin, R. R. and Nadel, L. (2009), Nap-dependent learning in infants. Developmental Science, 12: 1007–1012. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-7687.2009.00837.x
Publication History
- Issue published online: 14 OCT 2009
- Article first published online: 6 APR 2009
- Received: 20 May 2008 Accepted: 15 September 2008
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Abstract
Sleep has been shown to aid a variety of learning and memory processes in adults (Stickgold, 2005). Recently, we showed that infants’ learning also benefits from subsequent sleep such that infants who nap are able to abstract the general grammatical pattern of a briefly presented artificial language (Gomez, Bootzin & Nadel, 2006). In the present study, we demonstrate, for the first time, long-term effects of sleep on memory for an artificial language. Fifteen-month-old infants who had napped within 4 hours of language exposure remembered the general grammatical pattern of the language 24 hours later. In contrast, infants who had not napped shortly after being familiarized with the language showed no evidence of remembering anything about the language. Our findings support the view that infants’ frequent napping plays an essential role in establishing long-term memory.