Ken A. Paller

Paller's early research focused on aspects of human memory, including encoding and retrieval. He studied patients with memory disorders and healthy individuals using behavioral, electrophysiological, and neuroimaging methods. His early work documented neural signals at initial memory formation that predicted whether or not information would be remembered later. In a paper with Marta Kutas and Andrew R. Mayes in 1987, he introduced the term Dm to refer to the electrophysiological differences produced as a function of later memory performance.{{cite journal |last1=Friedman |first1=David |last2=Ritter |first2=Walter |last3=Snodgrass |first3=Joan Gay |title=ERPs during study as a function of subsequent direct and indirect memory testing in young and old adults |journal=Cognitive Brain Research |date=1 July 1996 |volume=4 |issue=1 |pages=1–13 |doi=10.1016/0926-6410(95)00041-0 |pmid=8813408 |language=en |issn=0926-6410|doi-access=free }} With Brian Gonsalves and other colleagues, he studied neural events that led to false memories.{{cite book |last1=Platek |first1=Steven |last2=Keenan |first2=Julian |last3=Shackelford |first3=Todd |title=Evolutionary Cognitive Neuroscience |date=2007 |publisher=MIT Press |isbn=978-0-262-16241-8 |pages=525–528 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ly0TDgAAQBAJ&pg=PA525 |language=en}}{{cite book |last1=Wilson |first1=Rachal Zara |title=Neuroscience for Counsellors: Practical Applications for Counsellors, Therapists and Mental Health Practitioners |date=21 March 2014 |publisher=Jessica Kingsley Publishers |isbn=978-0-85700-894-7 |pages=69–70 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fdHWAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA69 |language=en}} With Joel Voss, he also used electrophysiological methods to document differences in brain responses between conscious and unconscious memory phenomena.{{cite journal |last1=van Gaal |first1=Simon |last2=De Lange |first2=Floris |last3=Cohen |first3=Michael |title=The role of consciousness in cognitive control and decision making |journal=Frontiers in Human Neuroscience |date=2012 |volume=6 |page=121 |doi=10.3389/fnhum.2012.00121 |pmid=22586386 |pmc=3345871 |issn=1662-5161 |doi-access=free }} Whereas memory phenomena are typically assessed in recall and recognition tests (declarative memory tests), Voss and Paller found different results when unconscious memory was assessed, as in conceptual priming and implicit memory tests.{{cite journal |last1=Kutas |first1=Marta |last2=Federmeier |first2=Kara D. |author-link2=Kara Federmeier|title=Thirty Years and Counting: Finding Meaning in the N400 Component of the Event-Related Brain Potential (ERP) |journal=Annual Review of Psychology |date=10 January 2011 |volume=62 |issue=1 |pages=621–647 |doi=10.1146/annurev.psych.093008.131123 |pmid=20809790 |pmc=4052444 |url=https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.psych.093008.131123 |access-date=15 May 2023 |language=en |issn=0066-4308}}

Paller's later research concerned the idea that learning is not a function only of the initial acquisition of knowledge, but that there are additional processing steps (known as consolidation) and that some of the work of consolidation takes place in the brain during sleep.{{cite news |last1=LaMotte |first1=Sandee |title=You can learn to put names to faces while you sleep, study finds |url=https://www.cnn.com/2022/01/12/health/memory-activation-sleep-study-wellness/index.html |access-date=15 May 2023 |work=CNN |date=12 January 2022 |language=en}}{{cite book |last1=Axmacher |first1=Nikolai |last2=Rasch |first2=Björn |title=Cognitive Neuroscience of Memory Consolidation |date=9 February 2017 |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-3-319-45066-7 |pages=345–355 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KqwZDgAAQBAJ |language=en}} Work in his laboratory was prominent in showing how subtle auditory stimulation during sleep could shape memory storage.{{cite news |last1=Belluck |first1=Pam |title=Sounds During Sleep Aid Memory, Study Finds |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/20/science/20sleep.html |access-date=16 May 2023 |work=The New York Times |date=19 November 2009}}{{cite journal |last1=Diekelmann |first1=S |title=Sleep for cognitive enhancement. |journal=Frontiers in Systems Neuroscience |date=2014 |volume=8 |pages=46 |doi=10.3389/fnsys.2014.00046 |pmid=24765066 |pmc=3980112 |doi-access=free }}{{cite journal |last1=Chen |first1=Zhe Sage |last2=Wilson |first2=Matthew A. |title=How our understanding of memory replay evolves |journal=Journal of Neurophysiology |date=1 March 2023 |volume=129 |issue=3 |pages=552–580 |doi=10.1152/jn.00454.2022 |pmid=36752404 |pmc=9988534 |url=https://doi.org/10.1152/jn.00454.2022 |access-date=16 May 2023 |language=en |issn=0022-3077 }}{{cite news |last1=Wickelgren |first1=Ingrid |title=Sounds Make Memories Stick During Sleep |url=https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/sounds-make-memories-stick/ |access-date=16 May 2023 |work=Scientific American |date=April 22, 2010 |language=en}}

These studies used a method that came to be known as Targeted Memory Reactivation (TMR). Studies with TMR showed that many types of learning are improved when pre-sleep learning is followed by memory reactivation during sleep.{{cite journal |last1=Cellini |first1=Nicola |last2=Capuozzo |first2=Alessandra |title=Shaping memory consolidation via targeted memory reactivation during sleep: Shaping memories during sleep |journal=Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences |date=August 2018 |volume=1426 |issue=1 |pages=52–71 |doi=10.1111/nyas.13855 |pmid=29762867 |s2cid=46886898 |url=https://doi.org/10.1111/nyas.13855 |access-date=16 May 2023 |language=en|hdl=11577/3298269 |hdl-access=free }}{{cite news |last1=Li |first1=Joyce |title=NU-led study observes memory storage during sleep |url=https://dailynorthwestern.com/2022/11/18/campus/northwestern-led-study-looks-inside-the-brain-to-observe-memory-storage-during-sleep/ |work=The Daily Northwestern |date=18 November 2022}}{{cite news |last1=Paul |first1=Marla |title=Now everyone can build battery-free electronic devices |url=https://news.northwestern.edu/stories/2021/10/skilled-movements-via-sleep/ |access-date=16 May 2023 |work=news.northwestern.edu |date=October 18, 2021 |language=en}}

Paller's lab group also contributed to adapting the TMR method to produce lucid-dreaming experiences. In the study of these unusual experiences, when people realize they are dreaming in the midst of a dream, real-time two-way communication between dreamer and experimenter was demonstrated.{{cite news |last1=Kulke |first1=Stephanie |title=Real-time dialogue with a dreaming person is possible |url=https://news.northwestern.edu/stories/2021/02/lucid-dreams-ken-paller/ |access-date=16 May 2023 |work=news.northwestern.edu |date=February 18, 2021 |language=en}} In this way, the study of dreams can now include data on people's experiences during a dream along with associated neural activity, instead of relying exclusively on people's reports after they wake up to find out about their dreams.{{cite news |title=Scientists Demonstrate Two-Way Communication with Dreaming Persons during Lucid Dream {{!}} Sci.News |url=https://www.sci.news/othersciences/psychology/two-way-communication-dreaming-persons-09388.html |access-date=16 May 2023 |work=Sci.News: Breaking Science News |date=24 February 2021}}

• {{Cite journal |last1=Paller |first1=Ken A. |last2=Creery |first2=Jessica D. |last3=Schechtman |first3=Eitan |date=2021-01-04 |title=Memory and Sleep: How Sleep Cognition Can Change the Waking Mind for the Better |journal=Annual Review of Psychology |volume=72 |pages=123–150 |doi=10.1146/annurev-psych-010419-050815 |issn=0066-4308 |pmc=7983127 |pmid=32946325 |url=https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-psych-010419-050815}}
• {{Cite journal |last1=Voss |first1=Joel L. |last2=Lucas |first2=Heather D. |last3=Paller |first3=Ken A. |date=2012 |title=More than a feeling: Pervasive influences of memory without awareness of retrieval |journal=Cognitive Neuroscience |volume=3 |issue=3–4 |pages=193–207 |doi=10.1080/17588928.2012.674935 |issn=1758-8928 |pmc=4385384 |pmid=24171735}}
• {{Cite journal |last1=Konkoly |first1=Karen R. |last2=Appel |first2=Kristoffer |last3=Chabani |first3=Emma |last4=Mangiaruga |first4=Anastasia |last5=Gott |first5=Jarrod |last6=Mallett |first6=Remington |last7=Caughran |first7=Bruce |last8=Witkowski |first8=Sarah |last9=Whitmore |first9=Nathan W. |last10=Mazurek |first10=Christopher Y. |last11=Berent |first11=Jonathan B. |last12=Weber |first12=Frederik D. |last13=Türker |first13=Başak |last14=Leu-Semenescu |first14=Smaranda |last15=Maranci |first15=Jean-Baptiste |date=2021-04-12 |title=Real-time dialogue between experimenters and dreamers during REM sleep |journal=Current Biology |volume=31 |issue=7 |pages=1417–1427.e6 |doi=10.1016/j.cub.2021.01.026 |issn=0960-9822 |pmc=8162929 |pmid=33607035|bibcode=2021CBio...31E1417K }}
• {{Cite journal |last1=Hu |first1=Xiaoqing |last2=Cheng |first2=Larry Y. |last3=Chiu |first3=Man Hey |last4=Paller |first4=Ken A. |date=2020 |title=Promoting memory consolidation during sleep: A meta-analysis of targeted memory reactivation |journal=Psychological Bulletin |volume=146 |issue=3 |pages=218–244 |doi=10.1037/bul0000223 |issn=0033-2909 |pmc=7144680 |pmid=32027149}}
• {{Cite journal |last=Paller |first=Ken A. |date=2017 |title=Sleeping in a Brave New World: Opportunities for Improving Learning and Clinical Outcomes through Targeted Memory Reactivation |journal=Current Directions in Psychological Science |volume=26 |issue=6 |pages=532–537 |doi=10.1177/0963721417716928 |issn=0963-7214 |pmc=5798898 |pmid=29422722}}
• {{cite journal |last1=Papalambros |first1=NA |last2=Santostasi |first2=G |last3=Malkani |first3=RG |last4=Braun |first4=R |last5=Weintraub |first5=S |last6=Paller |first6=KA |last7=Zee |first7=PC |title=Acoustic Enhancement of Sleep Slow Oscillations and Concomitant Memory Improvement in Older Adults. |journal=Frontiers in Human Neuroscience |date=2017 |volume=11 |pages=109 |doi=10.3389/fnhum.2017.00109 |pmid=28337134 |pmc=5340797 |doi-access=free }}
• {{cite journal |last1=Paller |first1=Ken A. |last2=Creery |first2=Jessica D. |last3=Florczak |first3=Susan M. |last4=Weintraub |first4=Sandra |last5=Mesulam |first5=M.-Marsel |last6=Reber |first6=Paul J. |last7=Kiragu |first7=Jessica |last8=Rooks |first8=Joshua |last9=Safron |first9=Adam |last10=Morhardt |first10=Darby |last11=O’Hara |first11=Mary |last12=Gigler |first12=Kathryn L. |last13=Molony |first13=John M. |last14=Maslar |first14=Michael |title=Benefits of Mindfulness Training for Patients With Progressive Cognitive Decline and Their Caregivers |journal=American Journal of Alzheimer's Disease & Other Dementias |date=May 2015 |volume=30 |issue=3 |pages=257–267 |doi=10.1177/1533317514545377|pmid=25154985 |pmc=4363074 }}
• {{Cite journal |last1=Paller |first1=Ken A. |last2=Voss |first2=Joel L. |last3=Westerberg |first3=Carmen E. |date=2009 |title=Investigating the Awareness of Remembering |url=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26158944/ |journal=Perspectives on Psychological Science: A Journal of the Association for Psychological Science |volume=4 |issue=2 |pages=185–199 |doi=10.1111/j.1745-6924.2009.01118.x |issn=1745-6916 |pmid=26158944|s2cid=7079283 }}
• {{Cite journal |last1=Rudoy |first1=John D. |last2=Voss |first2=Joel L. |last3=Westerberg |first3=Carmen E. |last4=Paller |first4=Ken A. |date=2009-11-20 |title=Strengthening Individual Memories by Reactivating them During Sleep |journal=Science |volume=326 |issue=5956 |pages=1079 |doi=10.1126/science.1179013 |issn=0036-8075 |pmc=2990343 |pmid=19965421|bibcode=2009Sci...326.1079R }}
• {{Cite journal |last1=Gonsalves |first1=Brian |last2=Reber |first2=Paul J. |last3=Gitelman |first3=Darren R. |last4=Parrish |first4=Todd B. |last5=Mesulam |first5=M.-Marsel |last6=Paller |first6=Ken A. |date=2004 |title=Neural evidence that vivid imagining can lead to false remembering |url=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15447635/ |journal=Psychological Science |volume=15 |issue=10 |pages=655–660 |doi=10.1111/j.0956-7976.2004.00736.x |issn=0956-7976 |pmid=15447635|s2cid=15660005 }}
• {{Cite journal |last1=Gonsalves |first1=B. |last2=Paller |first2=K. A. |date=2000 |title=Neural events that underlie remembering something that never happened |journal=Nature Neuroscience |volume=3 |issue=12 |pages=1316–1321 |doi=10.1038/81851 |issn=1097-6256 |pmid=11100153|s2cid=15150606 |doi-access=free }}
• {{Cite journal |last1=Paller |first1=Ken A. |last2=Wagner |first2=Anthony D. |date=2002 |title=Observing the transformation of experience into memory |url=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15866193/ |journal=Trends in Cognitive Sciences |language=en |volume=6 |issue=2 |pages=93–102 |doi=10.1016/s1364-6613(00)01845-3 |pmid=15866193 |s2cid=12212791 |issn=1364-6613}}
• {{Cite journal |last1=Paller |first1=K. A. |last2=Kutas |first2=M. |last3=Mayes |first3=A. R. |date=1987 |title=Neural correlates of encoding in an incidental learning paradigm |url=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/2441971/ |journal=Electroencephalography and Clinical Neurophysiology |volume=67 |issue=4 |pages=360–371 |doi=10.1016/0013-4694(87)90124-6 |issn=0013-4694 |pmid=2441971}}

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Category:Northwestern University faculty

Category:Memory researchers

Category:Sleep researchers

Category:University of California, Los Angeles alumni

Category:University of California, San Diego alumni

Category:Living people

Category:Year of birth missing (living people)

Category:21st-century American psychologists

Category:20th-century American psychologists