Ken A. Paller

Last updated
Ken A. Paller
Born
Los Angeles, California
NationalityU.S. Citizen
Alma mater
Scientific career
Fields Memory and Sleep
Institutions
Website https://faculty.wcas.northwestern.edu/paller/ https://cogns.northwestern.edu/

Ken A. Paller is an American neuroscientist who is a professor of psychology at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, USA. [4] He holds the James Padilla Chair in Arts & Sciences and serves as Director of the Cognitive Neuroscience Program in the Weinberg College of Arts & Sciences at Northwestern. He directs the Training Program in the Neuroscience of Human Cognition at Northwestern, [5] with support from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. [6] His work in cognitive neuroscience focuses on human memory, consciousness, sleep, dreaming, and related topics. [7] [8]

Contents

Paller has published over 300 scientific articles, reviews, and book chapters. [9] His research has been funded by the National Science Foundation, [10] the National Institutes of Health. [6] the Mind Science Foundation, [11] the Mind and Life Institute, [5] the McKnight Foundation [12] [13] and the Alzheimer's Association, [14] [15] among others. Paller served as Editor for the Memory Section of the journal Neuropsychologia [15] from 2008 to 2016, and remains on the Editorial Advisory Board. [16] From 2011 to 2015 he served on the Annual Meeting Program Committee for the Cognitive Neuroscience Society, chairing the committee for 2014 and 2015. [15] [17] [18] He is a Fellow of the Association for Psychological Science [19] and a Fellow of the Mind and Life Institute. [20]

Research

Paller's early research focused on aspects of human memory, including encoding and retrieval. He studied patients with memory disorders and healthy individuals using behavioral, electrophysiological, and neuroimaging methods. His early work documented neural signals at initial memory formation that predicted whether or not information would be remembered later. In a paper with Marta Kutas and Andrew R. Mayes in 1987, he introduced the term Dm to refer to the electrophysiological differences produced as a function of later memory performance. [21] With Brian Gonsalves and other colleagues, he studied neural events that led to false memories. [22] [23] With Joel Voss, he also used electrophysiological methods to document differences in brain responses between conscious and unconscious memory phenomena. [24] Whereas memory phenomena are typically assessed in recall and recognition tests (declarative memory tests), Voss and Paller found different results when unconscious memory was assessed, as in conceptual priming and implicit memory tests. [25]

Paller's later research concerned the idea that learning is not a function only of the initial acquisition of knowledge, but that there are additional processing steps (known as consolidation) and that some of the work of consolidation takes place in the brain during sleep. [26] [27] Work in his laboratory was prominent in showing how subtle auditory stimulation during sleep could shape memory storage. [28] [29] [30] [31]

These studies used a method that came to be known as Targeted Memory Reactivation (TMR). Studies with TMR showed that many types of learning are improved when pre-sleep learning is followed by memory reactivation during sleep. [32] [33] [34]

Paller's lab group also contributed to adapting the TMR method to produce lucid-dreaming experiences. In the study of these unusual experiences, when people realize they are dreaming in the midst of a dream, real-time two-way communication between dreamer and experimenter was demonstrated. [35] In this way, the study of dreams can now include data on people's experiences during a dream along with associated neural activity, instead of relying exclusively on people's reports after they wake up to find out about their dreams. [36]

Selected papers

Related Research Articles

In the psychology subfield of oneirology, a lucid dream is a type of dream in which the dreamer realizes that they are dreaming whilst dreaming. The capacity to have lucid dreams is a trainable cognitive skill. During a lucid dream, the dreamer may gain some amount of volitional control over the dream characters, narrative, or environment, although this control of dream content is not the salient feature of lucid dreaming. An important distinction is that lucid dreaming is a distinct type of dream from other types of dreams such as prelucid dreams and vivid dreams, although prelucid dreams are a precursor to lucid dreams, and lucid dreams are often accompanied with enhanced dream vividness. Lucid dreams are also distinct state from other lucid boundary sleep states such as lucid hypnagogia or lucid hypnopompia.

Multiple hypotheses explain the possible connections between sleep and learning in humans. Research indicates that sleep does more than allow the brain to rest; it may also aid the consolidation of long-term memories.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sleep</span> Naturally recurring resting state of mind and body

Sleep is a state of reduced mental and physical activity in which consciousness is altered and certain sensory activity is inhibited. During sleep, there is a marked decrease in muscle activity and interactions with the surrounding environment. While sleep differs from wakefulness in terms of the ability to react to stimuli, it still involves active brain patterns, making it more reactive than a coma or disorders of consciousness.

Non-rapid eye movement sleep (NREM), also known as quiescent sleep, is, collectively, sleep stages 1–3, previously known as stages 1–4. Rapid eye movement sleep (REM) is not included. There are distinct electroencephalographic and other characteristics seen in each stage. Unlike REM sleep, there is usually little or no eye movement during these stages. Dreaming occurs during both sleep states, and muscles are not paralyzed as in REM sleep. People who do not go through the sleeping stages properly get stuck in NREM sleep, and because muscles are not paralyzed a person may be able to sleepwalk. According to studies, the mental activity that takes place during NREM sleep is believed to be thought-like, whereas REM sleep includes hallucinatory and bizarre content. NREM sleep is characteristic of dreamer-initiated friendliness, compared to REM sleep where it is more aggressive, implying that NREM is in charge of simulating friendly interactions. The mental activity that occurs in NREM and REM sleep is a result of two different mind generators, which also explains the difference in mental activity. In addition, there is a parasympathetic dominance during NREM. The reported differences between the REM and NREM activity are believed to arise from differences in the memory stages that occur during the two types of sleep.

A gamma wave or gamma rhythm is a pattern of neural oscillation in humans with a frequency between 25 and 140 Hz, the 40 Hz point being of particular interest. Gamma rhythms are correlated with large-scale brain network activity and cognitive phenomena such as working memory, attention, and perceptual grouping, and can be increased in amplitude via meditation or neurostimulation. Altered gamma activity has been observed in many mood and cognitive disorders such as Alzheimer's disease, epilepsy, and schizophrenia.

Explicit memory is one of the two main types of long-term human memory, the other of which is implicit memory. Explicit memory is the conscious, intentional recollection of factual information, previous experiences, and concepts. This type of memory is dependent upon three processes: acquisition, consolidation, and retrieval.

Brainwave entrainment, also referred to as brainwave synchronization or neural entrainment, refers to the observation that brainwaves will naturally synchronize to the rhythm of periodic external stimuli, such as flickering lights, speech, music, or tactile stimuli.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Slow-wave sleep</span> Period of sleep in humans and other animals

Slow-wave sleep (SWS), often referred to as deep sleep, consists of stage three of non-rapid eye movement sleep. It usually lasts between 70 and 90 minutes and takes place during the first hours of the night. Initially, SWS consisted of both Stage 3, which has 20–50 percent delta wave activity, and Stage 4, which has more than 50 percent delta wave activity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Effects of meditation</span> Surveys & evaluates various meditative practices & evidence of neurophysiological benefits

The psychological and physiological effects of meditation have been studied. In recent years, studies of meditation have increasingly involved the use of modern instruments, such as fMRI and EEG, which are able to observe brain physiology and neural activity in living subjects, either during the act of meditation itself or before and after meditation. Correlations can thus be established between meditative practices and brain structure or function.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Default mode network</span> Large-scale brain network active when not focusing on an external task

In neuroscience, the default mode network (DMN), also known as the default network, default state network, or anatomically the medial frontoparietal network (M-FPN), is a large-scale brain network primarily composed of the dorsal medial prefrontal cortex, posterior cingulate cortex, precuneus and angular gyrus. It is best known for being active when a person is not focused on the outside world and the brain is at wakeful rest, such as during daydreaming and mind-wandering. It can also be active during detailed thoughts related to external task performance. Other times that the DMN is active include when the individual is thinking about others, thinking about themselves, remembering the past, and planning for the future.

Memory consolidation is a category of processes that stabilize a memory trace after its initial acquisition. A memory trace is a change in the nervous system caused by memorizing something. Consolidation is distinguished into two specific processes. The first, synaptic consolidation, which is thought to correspond to late-phase long-term potentiation, occurs on a small scale in the synaptic connections and neural circuits within the first few hours after learning. The second process is systems consolidation, occurring on a much larger scale in the brain, rendering hippocampus-dependent memories independent of the hippocampus over a period of weeks to years. Recently, a third process has become the focus of research, reconsolidation, in which previously consolidated memories can be made labile again through reactivation of the memory trace.

Cultural neuroscience is a field of research that focuses on the interrelation between a human's cultural environment and neurobiological systems. The field particularly incorporates ideas and perspectives from related domains like anthropology, psychology, and cognitive neuroscience to study sociocultural influences on human behaviors. Such impacts on behavior are often measured using various neuroimaging methods, through which cross-cultural variability in neural activity can be examined.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Memory</span> Faculty of mind to store and retrieve data

Memory is the faculty of the mind by which data or information is encoded, stored, and retrieved when needed. It is the retention of information over time for the purpose of influencing future action. If past events could not be remembered, it would be impossible for language, relationships, or personal identity to develop. Memory loss is usually described as forgetfulness or amnesia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Neuroscience of sleep</span> Study of the neuroscientific and physiological basis of the nature of sleep

The neuroscience of sleep is the study of the neuroscientific and physiological basis of the nature of sleep and its functions. Traditionally, sleep has been studied as part of psychology and medicine. The study of sleep from a neuroscience perspective grew to prominence with advances in technology and the proliferation of neuroscience research from the second half of the twentieth century.

Neuroenhancement or cognitive enhancement is the experimental use of pharmacological or non-pharmacological methods intended to improve cognitive and affective abilities in healthy people who do not have a mental illness. Agents or methods of neuroenhancement are intended to affect cognitive, social, psychological, mood, or motor benefits beyond normal functioning.

Hippocampal replay is a phenomenon observed in rats, mice, cats, rabbits, songbirds and monkeys. During sleep or awake rest, replay refers to the re-occurrence of a sequence of cell activations that also occurred during activity, but the replay has a much faster time scale. It may be in the same order, or in reverse. Cases were also found where a sequence of activations occurs before the actual activity, but it is still the same sequence. This is called preplay.

Patrick McNamara is an American neuroscientist. His work has centered on three major topics: sleep and dreams, religion, and mind/brain.

Social cognitive neuroscience is the scientific study of the biological processes underpinning social cognition. Specifically, it uses the tools of neuroscience to study "the mental mechanisms that create, frame, regulate, and respond to our experience of the social world". Social cognitive neuroscience uses the epistemological foundations of cognitive neuroscience, and is closely related to social neuroscience. Social cognitive neuroscience employs human neuroimaging, typically using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Human brain stimulation techniques such as transcranial magnetic stimulation and transcranial direct-current stimulation are also used. In nonhuman animals, direct electrophysiological recordings and electrical stimulation of single cells and neuronal populations are utilized for investigating lower-level social cognitive processes.

Adriana Galván is an American psychologist and expert on adolescent brain development. She is a professor of psychology at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) where she directs the Developmental Neuroscience laboratory. She was appointed the Jeffrey Wenzel Term Chair in Behavioral Neuroscience and the Dean of Undergraduate Education at UCLA.

References

  1. ↑ "Talking in Your Sleep: Communications from Inside a Dream". Mind Science. Retrieved 16 May 2023.
  2. ↑ "Ken Paller". Northwestern Scholars.
  3. ↑ Heinze, H.-J.; Münte, T. F.; Mangun, George R. (6 December 2012). Cognitive Electrophysiology. Springer Science & Business Media. ISBN   978-1-4612-0283-7.
  4. ↑ Pollard, Allyssa (August 13, 2015). "Ken Paller Awarded National Science Foundation Grant". Northwestern Now. Retrieved 16 May 2023.
  5. 1 2 "Ken Paller". Mind & Life Institute. Retrieved 16 May 2023.
  6. 1 2 Paller, Ken. "Training Program in the Neuroscience of Human Cognition". Grantome. Retrieved 16 May 2023.
  7. ↑ Blaschke, Jayme (November 4, 2019). "Memory and Cognitive Disorders Award to help researchers explore link between sleep, memory". Texas State Newsroom. Retrieved 16 May 2023.
  8. ↑ "Sleep to Remember". Northwestern Magazine. No. Spring. 2019.
  9. ↑ "Ken A. Paller". scholar.google.com. Retrieved 2023-05-16.
  10. ↑ "NSF Award Search: Award # 1025697 - Strategically strengthening declarative memories during sleep". National Science Foundation. Retrieved 16 May 2023.
  11. ↑ Good, Meriam (30 September 2016). "2016 Tom Slick Research Awards in Consciousness". Mind Science. Retrieved 16 May 2023.
  12. ↑ Miles, Molly (4 December 2019). "McKnight Awards $1.2 Million for Study of Memory and Cognitive Disorders". McKnight Foundation. Retrieved 16 May 2023.
  13. ↑ O'Connor, John (1 October 2014). "'Mindfulness' training appears helpful". McKnight's Senior Living. Retrieved 16 May 2023.
  14. ↑ "2008 Alzheimer's Association Grants Portfolio" (PDF). Alzheimer’s Association. 2008. Retrieved 16 May 2023.
  15. 1 2 3 "Ken Paller". The Helix Center. Retrieved 16 May 2023.
  16. ↑ "Editorial board - Neuropsychologia | ScienceDirect.com by Elsevier". www.sciencedirect.com. Retrieved 16 May 2023.
  17. ↑ "2014 Meeting Program" (PDF). Cognitive Neuroscience Society. Retrieved 16 May 2023.
  18. ↑ "2 Cognitive Neuroscience Society 2015 Committees & Staff" (PDF). CNS2015. Retrieved 16 May 2023.
  19. ↑ "APS Fellows (Search for Paller)". member.psychologicalscience.org. Retrieved 16 May 2023.
  20. ↑ "Fellows". Mind & Life Institute. Retrieved 16 May 2023.
  21. ↑ Friedman, David; Ritter, Walter; Snodgrass, Joan Gay (1 July 1996). "ERPs during study as a function of subsequent direct and indirect memory testing in young and old adults". Cognitive Brain Research. 4 (1): 1–13. doi: 10.1016/0926-6410(95)00041-0 . ISSN   0926-6410. PMID   8813408.
  22. ↑ Platek, Steven; Keenan, Julian; Shackelford, Todd (2007). Evolutionary Cognitive Neuroscience. MIT Press. pp. 525–528. ISBN   978-0-262-16241-8.
  23. ↑ Wilson, Rachal Zara (21 March 2014). Neuroscience for Counsellors: Practical Applications for Counsellors, Therapists and Mental Health Practitioners. Jessica Kingsley Publishers. pp. 69–70. ISBN   978-0-85700-894-7.
  24. ↑ van Gaal, Simon; De Lange, Floris; Cohen, Michael (2012). "The role of consciousness in cognitive control and decision making". Frontiers in Human Neuroscience. 6: 121. doi: 10.3389/fnhum.2012.00121 . ISSN   1662-5161. PMC   3345871 . PMID   22586386.
  25. ↑ Kutas, Marta; Federmeier, Kara D. (10 January 2011). "Thirty Years and Counting: Finding Meaning in the N400 Component of the Event-Related Brain Potential (ERP)". Annual Review of Psychology. 62 (1): 621–647. doi:10.1146/annurev.psych.093008.131123. ISSN   0066-4308. PMC   4052444 . PMID   20809790 . Retrieved 15 May 2023.
  26. ↑ LaMotte, Sandee (12 January 2022). "You can learn to put names to faces while you sleep, study finds". CNN. Retrieved 15 May 2023.
  27. ↑ Axmacher, Nikolai; Rasch, Björn (9 February 2017). Cognitive Neuroscience of Memory Consolidation. Springer. pp. 345–355. ISBN   978-3-319-45066-7.
  28. ↑ Belluck, Pam (19 November 2009). "Sounds During Sleep Aid Memory, Study Finds". The New York Times. Retrieved 16 May 2023.
  29. ↑ Diekelmann, S (2014). "Sleep for cognitive enhancement". Frontiers in Systems Neuroscience. 8: 46. doi: 10.3389/fnsys.2014.00046 . PMC   3980112 . PMID   24765066.
  30. ↑ Chen, Zhe Sage; Wilson, Matthew A. (1 March 2023). "How our understanding of memory replay evolves". Journal of Neurophysiology. 129 (3): 552–580. doi:10.1152/jn.00454.2022. ISSN   0022-3077. PMC   9988534 . PMID   36752404 . Retrieved 16 May 2023.
  31. ↑ Wickelgren, Ingrid (April 22, 2010). "Sounds Make Memories Stick During Sleep". Scientific American. Retrieved 16 May 2023.
  32. ↑ Cellini, Nicola; Capuozzo, Alessandra (August 2018). "Shaping memory consolidation via targeted memory reactivation during sleep: Shaping memories during sleep". Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences. 1426 (1): 52–71. doi:10.1111/nyas.13855. PMID   29762867. S2CID   46886898 . Retrieved 16 May 2023.
  33. ↑ Li, Joyce (18 November 2022). "NU-led study observes memory storage during sleep". The Daily Northwestern.
  34. ↑ Paul, Marla (October 18, 2021). "Now everyone can build battery-free electronic devices". news.northwestern.edu. Retrieved 16 May 2023.
  35. ↑ Kulke, Stephanie (February 18, 2021). "Real-time dialogue with a dreaming person is possible". news.northwestern.edu. Retrieved 16 May 2023.
  36. ↑ "Scientists Demonstrate Two-Way Communication with Dreaming Persons during Lucid Dream | Sci.News". Sci.News: Breaking Science News. 24 February 2021. Retrieved 16 May 2023.
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