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Our Brains May Go ‘Offline’ and Neural Connections Weaken During Sleep
Amaze Lab
Follow
5/22/2024
When we sleep our bodies recuperate, allowing our brains to literally clean themselves as we dream. Now new research suggests that our brain’s neural connections also weaken briefly, before resetting and getting us ready for our next day.
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Learning
Transcript
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00:00
When we sleep, our bodies recuperate, allowing our brains to literally clean themselves as
00:08
we dream.
00:09
Now, new research suggests that our brain's neural connections also weakened briefly before
00:13
resetting and getting us ready for our next day.
00:16
The researchers were looking specifically at the synapses of zebrafish, as their brains
00:20
are much easier to gather data from during sleep cycles.
00:24
Observations concluded that during periods of wakefulness, their brains gained more neural
00:27
connections.
00:28
However, they also found they lost some during periods of sleep, meaning the weakening of
00:32
neural connections could be a part of healthy brain function.
00:35
So why would our brains need to lose neural connections?
00:38
Well, the authors had this to say about that, quote, While the function of sleep remains
00:42
mysterious, it may be serving as an offline period when those connections can be weakened
00:47
across the brain in preparation for us to learn new things the following day.
00:51
The researchers also discovered that the longer the zebrafish were awake, the more neural
00:55
connections they gained and subsequent connections lost during sleep, with the study's authors
00:59
concluding that sleep pressure, or the need for sleep, could be crucial for the effectiveness
01:04
of our brains clearing hard drive space for the next day.
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