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Sleep enhances haptic memory of novel objects

Poster Session A - Saturday, March 7, 3:00 – 5:00 pm, Fairview/Kitsilano Ballrooms

Laura Cacciamani¹, Kaelynn Hernandez¹, Sasha Kennedy¹, Zoe Meyer¹, Sofia Gurevich¹, Katharine C. Simon^2,3; ¹California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, ²School of Medicine, UC Irvine, ³Rady Children’s Hospital

Sleep is known to strengthen visual perceptual learning, but its role in non-visual perceptual learning remains largely unexplored. The present study addresses this gap by examining the effect of sleep on haptic memory for objects. We used a between-subject design in which participants were randomly assigned to either a sleep or wake condition. All participants completed training and an immediate test on a non-visual perceptual learning task, followed by a delayed test 12-hours later—after either a period of daytime wakefulness or overnight sleep. During the task, participants were blindfolded and asked to use their dominant (right) hand to learn 12 unique “Greebles,” novel 3D-printed objects that differed in the shape of their bodies and appendages. Each Greeble was introduced by name, and participants had 15 seconds to haptically explore it while describing its features. Training consisted of four consecutive learning blocks with randomized object presentation. Memory was assessed immediately and after the 12-hour delay. During test, participants completed an old/new recognition task, recalled each Greeble’s name, and rated their confidence in their responses. Results revealed that participants in the sleep condition showed a smaller decline in memory accuracy compared to those who remained awake. Our findings suggest that sleep helps preserve haptic object memory over time, extending evidence for sleep-dependent consolidation beyond the visual domain to include haptic perception of objects.

Topic Area: LONG-TERM MEMORY: Episodic