MINI REVIEW article
Front. Behav. Neurosci.
Sec. Learning and Memory
Volume 19 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fnbeh.2025.1620544
This article is part of the Research TopicSleep and cognition: The role of sleep patterns and deprivation in memory and learningView all 4 articles
Slow-Wave Sleep as a Key Player in Offline Memory Processing: Insights from Human EEG Studies
Provisionally accepted
- 1Department of Biomedical and Life Sciences, Lancaster University, Lancaster, United Kingdom
- 2Department of Psychology, Lancaster University, Lancaster, United Kingdom
- 3Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, United Kingdom
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Slow-wave sleep (SWS) plays a pivotal role in memory consolidation, and electroencephalography (EEG) has provided critical insights into the neural mechanisms underlying these processes. In this mini-review, we discuss how SWS supports the processing of both declarative and procedural memory, in addition to higher cognitive functioning, focusing on the latest evidence from human EEG studies that examine temporal regularities alongside those that have demonstrated the coordinated interplay between slow oscillations, sleep spindles, and hippocampal ripples. We discuss how the precise temporal coupling of these oscillatory events facilitates memory transfer from the hippocampus to the neocortex, enhancing neuronal reactivation and optimising long-term memory consolidation. We also examine how disruptions to SWS -due to lifestyle factors, ageing, neurological disorders, or pharmacological agents can impair slow-wave activity and spindle dynamics, leading to memory deficits. Further, we highlight emerging neuromodulation techniques, such as transcranial direct current stimulation and closed-loop auditory stimulation, which harness EEG-based insights to enhance SWS and improve memory outcomes. These findings collectively demonstrate the potential of integrating EEG methodologies with targeted therapeutic interventions to restore SWS, optimise memory consolidation and enhance cognitive health. Finally, we recommend directions for future research aimed at refining these approaches, evaluating their long-term efficacy across diverse populations, and exploring new strategies to preserve memory function in the context of healthy ageing and neurological disease.
Keywords: Slow wave sleep (sws), EEG, sleep microstructure, memory consolidation, Sleep oscillations, sleep disruption, Therapeutic interventions
Received: 29 Apr 2025; Accepted: 28 Jul 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Keeble, Monaghan, Robertson and Hannan. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Sana Hannan, Department of Biomedical and Life Sciences, Lancaster University, Lancaster, United Kingdom
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