Psychology in the pub: the role of sleep in memory and language learning

The next meeting of Psychology in the Pub is on Thursday 11 October 2012 at 7.30pm at The Showroom café/bar opposite Sheffield Train Station.
 
Dr Anna Weighall will be talking about The Bedtime Story Effect: The Role of Sleep in Memory and Language Learning...
 
For hundreds of years scientists have questioned the function of sleep. Evidence is now converging on the conclusion that sleep has an active role to play in memory consolidation, although this view is controversial. Anna will talk about the way in which sleep may affect our ability to lay down new information and to learn. She will talk specifically about the role of sleep in learning new vocabulary with reference to a series of experiments which investigated word learning in adults and young children. Findings suggest that memory for newly learned words improves after sleep in both adults and children. This finding has important implications for our conceptualisation of vocabulary development and for teaching and learning strategies. This talk will provide you with the perfect excuse for sending your children to bed early and perhaps even for a nap yourself!
 
Dr Anna Weighall is a principal lecturer in Psychology at Sheffield Hallam University where she lectures in a wide range of topics spanning cognitive and developmental psychology.  Her research interests are primarily concerned with language comprehension, learning and development. Her current research is funded by the Leverhulme Trust in collaboration with Professor Gareth Gaskell and Dr Lisa Henderson at the University of York.