Working memory (WM) is an executive function that can improve with training. However, the precise mechanism for this improvement is not known. Studies have shown greater WM gains after a period of sleep than a similar period of wake, and correlations between WM improvement and slow wave activity (SWA; 0.5–1 Hz) during slow wave sleep (SWS). A different body of literature has suggested an important role for autonomic activity during wake for WM. A recent study from our group reported that the temporal coupling of Autonomic/Central Events (ACEs) during sleep was associated with memory consolidation. We found that heart rate bursts (HR bursts) during non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep are accompanied by increases in SWA and sigma (12–15 Hz) power, as well as increases in the high-frequency (HF) component of the RR interval, reflecting vagal rebound. In addition, ACEs predict long-term, episodic memory improvement. Building on these previous results, we examined whether ACEs also contribute to gains in WM. We tested 104 young adults in an operation span task (OSPAN) in the morning and evening, with either a nap (n = 53; with electroencephalography (EEG) and electrocardiography (ECG)) or wake (n = 51) between testing sessions. We identified HR bursts in the ECG and replicated the increases in SWA and sigma prior to peak of the HR burst, as well as vagal rebound after the peak. Furthermore, we showed sleep-dependent WM improvement, which was predicted by ACE activity. Using regression analyses, we discovered that significantly more variance in WM improvement could be explained with ACE variables than with overall sleep activity not time-locked with ECG. These results provide the first evidence that coordinated autonomic and central events play a significant role in sleep-related WM improvement and implicate the potential of autonomic interventions during sleep for cognitive enhancement.

工作记忆（WM）是一项执行功能，可以通过培训来提高。但是，尚不清楚用于这种改进的精确机制。研究表明，一段睡眠后的WM增益要比类似的唤醒时间长，并且在慢波睡眠（SWS）期间WM改善与慢波活动（SWA; 0.5-1 Hz）之间的相关性。另一些文献表明，WM在唤醒过程中对于自主神经活动具有重要作用。从我们集团最近的一项研究报告指出，时间耦合一个utonomic / ç entral é通风口（ACE S）睡眠期间与记忆巩固有关。我们发现，非快速眼动（NREM）睡眠期间的心率猝发（HR猝发）伴随着SWA和sigma（12-15 Hz）功率的增加，以及高频（HF）分量的增加。 RR间隔，反映迷走神经反弹。此外，ACE可以预测长期的，情景性的记忆改善。在这些先前结果的基础上，我们检查了ACE是否也有助于增加WM。我们在早上和晚上对104名年轻人进行了一次手术跨度任务（OSPAN）的测试，两次测试之间小睡（n = 53；使用脑电图（EEG）和心电图（ECG））或醒来（n = 51）。我们在心电图中确定了HR爆发，并在HR爆发高峰之前复制了SWA和sigma的增加，以及峰值之后的迷走神经反弹。此外，我们显示出睡眠依赖性WM改善，这是ACE活动所预测的。使用回归分析，我们发现，ACE变量可以解释WM改善的差异远大于不受ECG锁定的整体睡眠活动。这些结果提供了第一个证据，即协调的自主神经活动和中枢事件在与睡眠有关的WM改善中起重要作用，并暗示了在睡眠过程中进行自主神经干预以增强认知能力的潜力。