Neural Correlates of human cognitive abilities during sleep

ABSTRACT Inter-individual differences in sleep spindles are highly correlated with “Reasoning” abilities (problem solving skills; i.e., the ability to employ logic, identify complex patterns), but not Short Term Memory or Verbal abilities. Simultaneous electroencephalography and functional magnetic resonance imaging (EEG-fMRI) have revealed brain activations time-locked to spindles (e.g., thalamic, paralimbic, and motor cortical areas)–yet the functional significance of inter-individual differences in spindle-related brain activation remains to be investigated. Using EEG-fMRI during sleep, we identified, for the first time, the neural activation patterns time-locked to spindles that are correlated with cognitive abilities. Similar to previous studies, activations time-locked to spindles were observed in thalamocortical circuitry and basal ganglia regions. Importantly, spindle-related activation in a subset of these regions were specifically related to inter-individual differences in Reasoning, but not STM or Verbal abilities. These results may help elucidate the physiological mechanisms which support the function of sleep for the capacity for reasoning.