Scientists from the University of Cambridge and Imperial College London have found out what processes occur in the brain during sleep. This is reported by MedicalXpress.
Scientists have analyzed the processes occurring with memories during the phase of slow sleep. To do this, they stimulated the neurons of the mice.
Scientists have come to the conclusion that during sleep, the connections between neurons that contain relevant information become stronger, and those that are mediated by less important data, weaken and disappear.
“Depending on the individual's experiences and their significance, the size of the corresponding neural connections changes,” says lead author Ana Gonzalez Rueda.
This mechanism prevents overstimulation of the nervous system, Rueda says. In addition, in this way the brain is able to store important information for a long time without data loss.
“Although the brain has an extraordinary amount of memory, it takes a lot of energy to keep neurons connected and active. It is much more efficient to keep only what is needed,”the researcher notes.