Effects of Sleep Quality on Episodic Memory Reinstatement in Young and Older Adults: Insights from EEG Representational Similarity Analysis

Poster Session C - Sunday, March 30, 2025, 5:00 – 7:00 pm EDT, Back Bay Ballroom/Republic Ballroom

Masoud Seraji^1,2 (m.seraji@utexas.edu), Soroush Mirjalili^1,3, Chuu Nyan¹, Aiden Wachnin¹, Sahana Ram¹, Vince Calhoun², Audrey Duarte¹; ¹University of Texas at Austin, ²TReNDS Center (G-tech, Emory, GSU), ³University of Oregon

Abundant research from animal models shows that sleep is crucial for episodic memory and supporting neural mechanisms, yet the impact of habitual sleep quality on episodic memory and supporting neural activity in humans, particularly across age, remains underexplored. This study investigates the relationship between habitual sleep quality and episodic memory using EEG-based encoding-retrieval similarity analysis (ERS). Fifty-five participants (28 young and 27 older adults) wore wrist accelerometers for one week to capture habitual sleep patterns. Memory performance was assessed with an object-scene, paired associate learning task following a sleep-filled, 72-hour delay, with EEG data recorded during encoding and delayed retrieval phases. Spatiotemporal encoding-retrieval neural similarity was applied to EEG oscillatory power to measure episodic reinstatement effects. Results showed reduced delayed associative memory performance and neural reinstatement effects in older compared to younger adults. Greater sleep efficiency was associated with episodic reinstatement, across young and older adults. This research underscores the critical role of habitual sleep patterns in shaping memory-related brain activity across the adult lifespan.

Topic Area: LONG-TERM MEMORY: Episodic