Understanding how sleep-related information processing affects behaviour may allow targeted cognitive enhancement to improve quality of life. Previous evidence demonstrates that implicitly-presented cues are processed during subsequent sleep, resulting in enhanced cognition upon waking. We used a masked priming task to investigate this further. To assess sleep-mediated effects on reactions to implicitly presented primes, participants performed an Affective Priming Task pre-and-post 90 min of sleep, compared with an equal period of wakefulness. The Choice Reaction Time Task-a similar binary choice task but without the implicit aspect-was used as a control. Sixteen healthy participants across a range of ages were tested and sleep monitored using electroencephalogram. In stark contrast to the control task, in the Affective Priming Task reaction times significantly improved across all prime types after sleep, but not an equal period of wake. There was no significant change in reaction times on Choice Reaction Time Task after wakefulness or sleep.Rather than a general suppression of all primes, the data are more in keeping with specific strategic optimisation of prime processing during sleep. We plan future work to probe the mechanisms and neuroanatomical substrate of sleep-mediated prime processing. K E Y W O R D Scognition, healthy function, implicit learning, subliminal

Memory consolidation is the process by which relevant information is selected and transferred from a shortterm, fragile state, into a stable, longer term domain from which it can be recalled. Effective memory underpins our ability to carry out everyday activities. When memory consolidation fails, such as in Alzheimer's disease, the consequences can be devastating. Understanding the neurobiology of memory will help develop treatments for patients with memory loss. Here we describe the myriad processes involved in memory consolidation, including cholinergic and dopaminergic neurotransmission predominantly in hippocampal networks. We discuss established therapies as well as potential novel strategies for boosting cognition. Future approaches to enhancement of memory consolidation include not only pharmacological and neurosurgical treatments, but also lifestyle interventions -for example, modifications to sleep, exercise and diet.

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