The impact of sleep on perceptual learning and attention

Liu, Zhishan 2025. The impact of sleep on perceptual learning and attention. PhD Thesis, Cardiff University. Item availability restricted.

Preview	PDF (Thesis) - Accepted Post-Print Version Download (4MB) | Preview
	PDF (Cardiff University Electronic Publication Form) Restricted to Repository staff only Download (214kB)

Abstract

This thesis examines the complicated relationship between learning and brain plasticity, as well as the human brain's unique ability to learn and adapt. Building on previous research, the thesis aimed to examine online, offline wake, and offline sleep learning. The objective is to advance our knowledge of this complex relationship. The effects of sleep on learning consolidation, its role in modifying cognitive abilities, and the inter-individual variability in these processes are still not completely understood in the literature today. Our research aims to fill these gaps, with the hope that it will have a positive impact on training and therapy approaches, thereby enhancing cognitive and learning capacities. The first empirical chapter provides an in-depth exploration of a backward masking task, a learning task that integrates online learning with sleep. Our findings shed new perspectives into the process of learning and the possible brain mechanism involved in the backward masking learning by indicating a sleep-dependent component. This work contributes by outlining the brain mechanisms underpinning sleep-dependant learning, a topic that has previously received little attention in the literature. Using a method comparable to backward masking learning, our next chapter explores the effect of sleep on selective attention. The aim is to clarify the state-dependent components essential for optimal task performance by contrasting the sleep response to both learning tasks. This section builds on the knowledge gap by expanding our understanding of how sleep impacts learning and cognition. In Chapter 4, the thesis delves into the analysis of inter-individual differences, aiming to uncover the links between learning variability and discrepancies in brain structure, particularly in the domains of perceptual and motor learning. This thesis examines the potential benefits of incorporating sleep-in learning consolidation in detail. The aim is to advance knowledge of the adaptive learning capacity of the human brain and to open up opportunities for new treatments and educational approaches that improve cognitive and learning skills.

Item Type:	Thesis (PhD)
Date Type:	Completion
Status:	Unpublished
Schools:	Schools > Psychology
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	12 November 2025
Last Modified:	12 Nov 2025 16:17
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/182339

Actions (repository staff only)

Edit Item