PhD Defence Hongyu Zhao

Keywords: Sleep deprivation, hippocampus-dependent memory, subliminal memory reactivation, phosphodiesterase type 4
 

"Restoring Lost Memories PDE4 Inhibition and Subliminal Reactivation as Novel Approaches to Counteract Sleep Deprivation-Induced Memory Deficits"

This thesis investigated how sleep deprivation affects memory and whether forgotten memories can still be recovered. Poor sleep is known to harm memory, but it remains uncertain whether this reflects permanent memory loss or reduced access to stored information. Using both animal and human studies, this research explored ways to restore memory after sleep loss. In animals, the study found that certain medications (PDE4 inhibitors) could prevent memory problems caused by sleep deprivation. In humans, the research focused on using very brief and unconscious (subliminal) reminders to help people retrieve memories they had trouble recalling after poor sleep. Results showed that these subliminal cues improved memory performance, especially for words and complex visual patterns. These findings suggest that some memories impaired by sleep loss are not lost forever but are simply harder to retrieve, and that both medication and subliminal stimulation may help make them accessible again. 

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