FUNCTIONAL UNCERTAINTY, AGING AND MEMORY PROCESSES DURING SLEEP

Disorganized sleep patterns can be found both during normal developmen t and in pathological conditions. Aging could also be accompanied by a disorganization of the night sleep episode; sleep could be interrupte d by spontaneous awakening, sleep cycle could be shortened or incomple te, sleep states modified. These patterns suggest an inability to sust ain a stable condition, i.e. a condition of functional uncertainty. Bi ological and cognitive implications of functional uncertainty conditio ns are discussed. In particular, the hypothesis has been put forward t hat disturbances of sleep could have a detrimental role on memory. Rec ent results obtained in our lab support this hypothesis: recall is cor related with NREM-REM cycles proportion. Future research should ascert ain the role of the functional uncertainty with respect to the kind of memory being involved during sleep, and establish how much and for wh ich cognitive processes (including those involved in dream production) the inability to sustain a steady condition impairs the functioning d uring sleep. The duration of the functional uncertainty condition is a lso important. The long-term study of the link between functional unce rtainty and cognitive resources, could be important for the understand ing of the night life and for an adequate treatment of patients.