You must have heard and read that sleep helps strengthen and consolidate memories. Now researchers show how it works. Sleep after learning encourages the growth of dendritic spines - the tiny protrusions from brain cells that connect to other brain cells and facilitate the passage of information across synapses. Moreover the activity of brain cells during deep sleep or slow-wave sleep after learning is critical for such growth say researchers from NYU Langone Medical Centre New York. The findings in mice show for the first time how learning and sleep cause physical changes in the motor cortex a brain region
