A new study suggests that receiving rewards as you learn can help cement new facts and skills in your memory, particularly when combined with a daytime nap.

The findings from the University of Geneva, to be published in the journal eLife, reveal that memories associated with a reward are preferentially reinforced by sleep. Even a short nap after a period of learning is beneficial.

What infant memory studies tells us about the bilingual advantage

Like any other area of research, the study of bilingualism is a difficult enterprise, and one of the greatest pleasures of academic life is to read papers whose authors are unafraid to acknowledge the contradictions in their own findings and to raise questions, instead of providing answers.

Chemical changes in brain cells caused by disturbances in the body's day-night cycle may be a key underlying cause of the learning and memory loss associated with Alzheimer's disease, according to a University of California, Irvine study.

The research on mice, led by UCI biomedical engineering professor Gregory Brewer, provides the first evidence that circadian rhythm-altering sleep disruptions similar to jet lag promote memory problems and chemical alterations in the brain.

When you sleep, your brain is busy storing and consolidating things you learned that day, stuff you’ll need in your memory toolkit tomorrow, next week, or next year.