Sleep benefits the stabilization of newly acquired information – a process known as memory consolidation. Age-related alterations in sleep physiology may affect memory consolidation and account for reduced episodic memory performance in healthy older individuals. The striking parallelism of age-related changes in sleep and episodic memory has provoked a considerable increment in empirical studies investigating the link between age-related changes in sleep and memory. Still, evidence remains inconclusive under which circumstances and by which mechanisms memory consolidation is affected during aging. In this review we provide an exhaustive summary of the status quo of research on episodic memory consolidation during sleep in healthy aging. On this basis, we derive a cohesive explanatory framework to understand age-related changes in consolidation mechanisms during sleep. Consolidation impairments are not solely caused by sleep changes but arise in synergy with age-related alterations in brain structure and neuromodulation. We argue that sleep oscillations during deep non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep guide the reactivation, integration, and redistribution of memory traces. Neuromodulators supporting these mechanisms change in old age. In combination with alterations in brain structure, the generation of sleep oscillations during NREM sleep is impaired, their coordination becomes diffuse, and the processes necessary to render stable episodic memories are impaired.

睡眠有利于稳定新获取的信息，这一过程称为内存合并。睡眠生理学中与年龄相关的变化可能会影响记忆巩固，并导致健康的老年人个体的间歇性记忆表现下降。与年龄有关的睡眠和情节性记忆变化的惊人并行性已激发了许多经验研究，这些研究调查了与年龄有关的睡眠和记忆性之间的联系。尽管如此，在衰老过程中，哪种情况以及哪种机制影响了记忆整合，证据仍无定论。在这篇综述中，我们详尽地总结了健康衰老期间睡眠过程中情景记忆巩固的研究现状。在此基础上，我们得出了一个有凝聚力的解释框架，以了解睡眠期间巩固机制中与年龄相关的变化。合并障碍不仅由睡眠变化引起，而且与年龄相关的大脑结构和神经调节改变协同作用。我们认为深度非快速眼动（NREM）睡眠期间的睡眠振荡指导记忆迹线的重新激活，整合和重新分布。支持这些机制的神经调节剂会随着年龄的增长而改变。与大脑结构的改变相结合，NREM睡眠期间睡眠振荡的产生受到损害，它们的协调性变得分散，并且损害了提供稳定的情景记忆的必要过程。合并障碍不仅由睡眠变化引起，而且与年龄相关的大脑结构和神经调节改变协同作用。我们认为深度非快速眼动（NREM）睡眠期间的睡眠振荡指导记忆迹线的重新激活，整合和重新分布。支持这些机制的神经调节剂会随着年龄的增长而改变。与大脑结构的改变相结合，NREM睡眠期间睡眠振荡的产生受到损害，它们的协调性变得分散，并且损害了提供稳定的情景记忆的必要过程。合并障碍不仅由睡眠变化引起，而且与年龄相关的大脑结构和神经调节改变协同作用。我们认为深度非快速眼动（NREM）睡眠期间的睡眠振荡指导记忆迹线的重新激活，整合和重新分布。支持这些机制的神经调节剂会随着年龄的增长而改变。与大脑结构的改变相结合，NREM睡眠期间睡眠振荡的产生受到损害，它们的协调性变得分散，并且损害了提供稳定的情景记忆的必要过程。支持这些机制的神经调节剂会随着年龄的增长而改变。与大脑结构的改变相结合，NREM睡眠期间睡眠振荡的产生受到损害，它们的协调性变得分散，并且损害了提供稳定的情景记忆的必要过程。支持这些机制的神经调节剂会随着年龄的增长而改变。与大脑结构的改变相结合，NREM睡眠期间睡眠振荡的产生受到损害，它们的协调性变得分散，并且损害了提供稳定的情景记忆的必要过程。