Cardiac responses to sounds reveal the embodiment of sleep functions

Cardiac responses to sounds reveal
the embodiment of sleep functions

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Abstract

This presentation advocates that cardiac responses to sounds, which are not typically investigated during sleep, contain meaningful information about sleep functions beyond that obtained with brain activity. To support this, we will present three studies demonstrating how cardiac signals during sleep reveal (i) the integration of internal and external sensory inputs, (ii) the hierarchical predictive coding of auditory information, and (iii) an embodied form of semantic processing. Overall, this talk will empirically demonstrate the embodiment of cognitive processing of auditory information during sleep and highlight the value of cardiac signals in advancing our understanding of sleep functions.

Speaker

Matthieu Koroma is a postdoctoral researcher at the Physiology of Cognition Lab at the GIGA Institute, University of Liège. His research focuses on the physiological interplay between the brain and body in sleep-related cognitive functions, including emotion, memory, attention, and consciousness. During his PhD at ENS in Paris, he discovered that the brain can remain connected to its external environment during sleep, attentively tracking speech and even learning new languages, depending on specific sleep stages and brain rhythms. Currently, he investigates the role of cardiac and autonomic activity in memory consolidation, emotional regulation, and consciousness variations during sleep, aiming to uncover the embodied nature of cognitive functions in these states.