The effect of sleep on item recognition and source memory recollection among shift-workers and permanent day-workers

Author(s)
Mawdsley, Matthew
Grasby, Katrina
Talk, Andrew
Publication Date
2014
Abstract
We studied the effect of sleep versus wakefulness on item recognition and source memory recollection in a sample of shift workers and permanent day-workers. Recognition of words that were previously viewed arrayed in quadrants of a page, and recollection of the original source location of the words on the page were assessed after a 12-h retention interval that was filled with wakefulness incorporating the subjects' work-shift, or an equal period that included sleep. Both shift-workers and permanent day-workers had poorer item recognition and source memory recollection when the retention interval was spent awake rather than including sleep. Shift-workers expressed larger deficits in performance than day-workers after wakefulness. This effect was not mediated by whether the shift-workers were on a day- or night-shift at the time of the study. These results indicate that sleep is an important contributor to successful item recognition and source recollection, and that mnemonic processing in shift-workers may be especially sensitive across their work-shift.
Citation
Journal of Sleep Research, 23(5), p. 538-544
ISSN
1365-2869
Link
Language
en
Publisher
Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Ltd
Title
The effect of sleep on item recognition and source memory recollection among shift-workers and permanent day-workers
Type of document
Journal Article
Entity Type
Publication

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