Research from the Sylvain Williams laboratory was chosen as one of the top ten discoveries of 2016 by Quebec Science magazine. The group was able to show that REM sleep plays an important role in memory consolidation. They used an advanced optogenetics approach to block theta oscillation in the hippocampus specifically in this sleep phase, and showed this impaired memory. This important discovery, published in the journal Science, puts to rest 15 years of controversy about the role of REM sleep in memory.
Read the article about the discovery in Quebec Science (in French only):
10 DÉCOUVERTES 2016 – Dormir pour se souvenir
Use the link at the bottom of the article to vote now to make this the top discovery of 2016 – Voting closes February 13th 2017.
Read the original research article in Science (subscription required):
Boyce R, Glasgow SD, Williams S, Adamantidis A. Causal evidence for the role of REM sleep theta rhythm in contextual memory consolidation. Science. 2016 May 13;352(6287):812-6. doi: 10.1126/science.aad5252.