Currently, the lab has several major research programs: Our first main track of research explores the role of sleep in human memory development and its relationship to brain plasticity. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) technology, we are investigating whether sleep triggers an overnight plastic change within the human brain. The results suggest that one potential function of sleep is to reorganize recently formed memory traces, likely refining and improving those memories for next day recall. It is our hope that these imaging studies can bridge the gap between brain and behavior, offering a comprehensive understanding of the influence of sleep on human brain physiology and concomitant behavior. To see an example sleep-dependent brain plasticity from one of our studies, click here Also within this research program, we are extending our studies that examine the sleep-dependent nature of procedural skill learning, particularly in the motor system. We are exploring how task complexity and different training regimes alter sleep-dependent learning. The implications of understanding the contribution of sleep in learning become most germane in the broader context of acquiring real-life skillful actions, for example, learning motor patterns required for movement-based sports, learning a musical instrument, or developing artistic movement control. Furthermore, we are also looking at impairments of sleep-dependent learning in several psychiatric and neurological diseases. We are also broadening our scope of focus, investigating different memory systems, particularly exploring the sleep-dependent nature of human emotional memory. In these new studies, we plan to determine whether declarative learning differs in its degree of sleep-dependency based on the degree of emotionality of the memory. Identifying emotionally selective sleep-dependent learning is of particular interest considering the marked changes in sleep architecture and the mnemonic deficits in a variety of clinical affective disorders including major depression, the state of bereavement, and, more generally, posttraumatic stress disorder. Our final program of research uses combined electroencephalography (EEG)-fMRI technology to investigate changes in electrical oscillations and functional brain anatomy during sleep. Using these techniques, we are tracking changes in human brain activity across the different stages of sleep - from sleep onset, through to the deeper stages of NREM sleep, and also REM sleep. Furthermore, we are investigating changes in functional brain activity and connectivity during NREM and REM sleep both prior to and following intensive daytime learning experiences. As a result, we will be able to understand not only how human brain physiology is changed following a night of sleep, but also how sleep physiology is changed by prior waking experience.