Research

We study the cognitive neuroscience of sleep, memory consolidation, and creative problem solving

Sleep & Creative Problem Solving

There are many famous examples of scientific discoveries and creative ideas appearing during a night of sleep from Mary Shelley to Otto Loewi to Paul McCartney. Could sleep be a particularly beneficial brain state for finding creative solutions? We examine the cognitive and neural mechanisms of sleep's effect on creative problem solving using EEG and behavioral methods.

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Select Publications & Presentations

Sanders, K. E. G., Osburn, S., Paller, K. A., Beeman, M. (2019). Targeted memory reactivation during sleep improves next-day problem solving. Psychological Science. 30(11), 1616–1624. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797619873344

Sanders, K. E. G., & Beeman, M. (2021). Sleep and incubation: Using problem reactivation during sleep to study forgetting fixation and unconscious processing during sleep incubation. Journal of Cognitive Psychology, 33(6-7), 738–756. https://doi.org/10.1080/20445911.2021.1912050

Konkoly, K. R., Morris, D. J., Hurka, K., Martinez, A. M., Sanders, K. E. G., & Paller, K. A. (2026). Creative problem-solving after experimentally provoking dreams of unsolved puzzles during REM sleep. Neuroscience of Consciousness, 2026(1), niaf067. https://doi.org/10.1093/nc/niaf067

Sanders, K. E. G., Krause, M., Payne, J. D. (2023, March). The role of rapid eye movement sleep and deep sleep to solving creative problems. Poster presented at the 30th Annual Cognitive Neuroscience Society Meeting, San Francisco, CA

A collection of multi-colored puzzle pieces arranged in a pile shaped like a heart. Image from Canva by DS Stories

Sleep & Memory Reorganization

Decades of research support sleep as a period that is beneficial for memory consolidation resulting in more stable long-term memories. More recent research suggests sleep not only stabilizes but also meaningfully reorganizes memories. What ways are memories reorganized during sleep and wakeful consolidation? Can different types of memory reorganization explain how taking a break facilitates creative problem solving?

Select Publications & Presentations

Denis, D., Sanders, K. E. G., Kensinger, E. A., Payne, J. D. (2022). Sleep preferentially consolidates negative aspects of human memory: Well-powered evidence from two large online experiments. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 119(44), e2202657119. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2202657119

Sanders, K. E. G., Niu, X., Utayde, M., Kensinger, E. A., Payne, J. D. (2024, October). Sleep signatures of emotional memory consolidation from young adulthood through middle age. Poster presented at the Society for Neuroscience’s Neuroscience 2024 conference, Chicago, IL.

Sanders, K. E. G., Payne, J. D. (2020, November). The Collector: A Novel Task for Investigating Restructuring in Problem Solving. Poster presented at the 61st Annual meeting of the Psychonomic Society, Austin, TX.

Sleep, Cognition, & Health

Getting good quality sleep is positively impacts many different cognitive processes, and poor sleep quality is associated with many mental health disorders and negative aspects of cognitive aging. Research suggests that improving sleep quality can positively counteract some of these negative outcomes. Could improving the cognitive processing that occurs during specific sleep stages have a more targeted positive impact on health and well-being?

A woman sleeping peacefully. Picture obtained from Canva by baseimage

Select Publications & Presentations

Niu, X., Sanders, K. E. G., Denis, D., Cunningham, T. J., Zhang, G., Kensinger, E. A., Payne, J. D. (2026). Memory deficits link trait-like EEG spectral profiles during REM and slow-wave sleep with shared symptoms of depression and anxiety. Behavioural Brain Research, 498, 115932. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbr.2025.115932

Mallett, R., Sanders, K. E. G., Payne, J. D., Paller, K. A. (2023, March). Can sleep be improved via targeted memory reactivation for stress reduction? Poster presented at the 30th Annual Cognitive Neuroscience Society Meeting, San Francisco, CA.

Lam, Jovian C. (2023). The Role of Rumination in Memory Consolidation During Creative Problem-Solving Incubation. University of Notre Dame. Thesis. https://doi.org/10.7274/h989r21172s *Mentored dissertation

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