Remembering a person’s face – and the name that goes with it – are fundamental aspects of social and professional relationships. Scientists think that, like many other aspects of memory, sleep plays an important role in the ability to recall faces and names. Findings from a new study suggest that targeted memory reactivation helps people recall faces and names.

Targeted memory reactivation is an experimental tool that relies on context-dependent memory, a type of memory that occurs when contextual cues facilitate memory recall. It is based on the premise that during memory storage, contextual information, such as sounds, smells, or tastes, are also stored. Retrieval of the memories is enhanced when exposed to the context. Although smells are among the strongest cues for inducing and retrieving memories, sounds can also provide strong stimuli for learning.

In the present study, 80 college-age students taking either a Latin-American history class or a Japanese history class heard their classmates' names while viewing pictures of the classmates' faces and listening to either Latin-American or Japanese music, respectively. Later, during a period of sleep, the students listened to softly played recordings of some of the names and the associated music. The investigators measured the participant’s sleep quality using electroencephalography and assessed the students' recall of their classmates' names while viewing their pictures.

They found that the students' ability to place a name with a face was enhanced if they heard the name and the associated music during a period of sleep. However, students who experienced poor quality sleep performed worse on recall tests than those with good quality sleep.

These findings suggest that targeted memory reactivation enhances memory consolidation, especially in the setting of deep, good quality sleep. Learn more about targeted memory reactivation in this clip featuring sleep expert Dr. Matthew Walker.

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