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Solution
Sleep

Innovative problem-solving is critical for all spheres of organised endeavour, including science and industry, and thus forms the cornerstone of a successful society. Such creative thinking often requires the suppression of preconceptions and the restructuring of existing knowledge.

Pioneering work has shown that sleep facilitates problem-solving, but exactly how, and which sleep characteristics are important, remain to be determined. We know that recent experiences are replayed in sleep and that in Slow Wave Sleep (SWS) this replay integrates new knowledge with old.

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The role of such replay in Rapid Eye Movement (REM) sleep, a stage which is strongly linked to creativity, is unknown. We have proposed BiOtA, a model which combines physiology, behavioural studies, and computational modelling to make testable predictions about the complementary contributions of memory replay in REM and SWS to problem-solving. We are testing this model through explicit manipulation of memory replay in sleep.

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We are using a very recently developed technique to explicitly trigger memory replay, a pioneering method for quantifying this replay, and cutting-edge approaches for the manipulation of neural oscillations during sleep. We expect two key results:  first, we will uncover the principles of how memory replay in REM and SWS combines with specific neural oscillations to promote both long-term memory and creative problem-solving.

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This will involve the development of a computational model which will enable optimised experimental design, paving the way for efficient future investigation of how to enhance innovation through the manipulation of sleep. Second, we will develop methods for boosting key sleep processes in a selective, targeted manner.  Immediate consequences will include a translational project to facilitate everyday problem-solving.

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