A 2017 study led by Anna Kis and colleagues, published in Scientific Reports, explored the connection between sleep and memory in dogs using a fully non-invasive methodology. The research focused on whether post-learning sleep contributes to memory consolidation, a process already well-studied in humans and rodents.
Dogs underwent polysomnography recordings after a command-learning task. The findings revealed that learning altered the dogs’ sleep EEG spectrum, with specific spectral features predicting better task performance after sleep. This demonstrates that sleep-related neural processes actively support memory consolidation in dogs.
An additional experiment compared dogs who slept versus those who stayed awake during the retention interval. Results showed that both short-term and long-term learning outcomes were significantly influenced by whether the dogs slept. Those allowed to sleep after training demonstrated clear performance improvements compared to their awake counterparts.
This study provides the first evidence that dogs’ ability to learn socially relevant tasks is enhanced by sleep, aligning them more closely with human cognitive processes. It highlights the importance of rest not only for physical recovery but also for optimizing canine learning and memory.
Source: Kis, A., Szakadát, S., Gácsi, M., Kovács, E., Simor, P., Török, C., Gombos, F., Bódizs, R., & Topál, J. (2017). The interrelated effect of sleep and learning in dogs (Canis familiaris); an EEG and behavioural study. Scientific Reports, 7.
