6th Edition of Neurology World Conference 2026

Abstract

The present study explores the relationship between sleep spindles during non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep and working memory load. Sleep spindles, oscillatory events occurring between 10-16 Hz, have been associated with memory consolidation, but their connection with working memory load requires more research. Using electroencephalography (EEG) data from 17 subjects who performed a memory task and then took a nap period where the EEG data recorded, sleep spindles were auto-detected and analyzed for various characteristics, including power spectral density (PSD), amplitude, duration, and total count, across different working memory loads. The present study employs the filter-based and thresholding (FBT) model to identify sleep spindles and compares spindle characteristics between low and high memory loads (Load 2 and Load 5). The results indicate significant differences in spindle power across multiple spindle frequency bands. Higher spindle power was observed in Load 5, suggesting a link between spindle dynamics and working memory load. There was also a significant difference between the upper quartile of high amplitude sleep spindles between both memory loads in each subject. The findings show the potential role of sleep spindles in cognitive functions such as working memory which can lead to further investigation into their neural mechanisms and further research into methods such as sleep spindles manipulation for improvement of memory.