Neural plasticity in obstructive sleep apnoea and in memory formation

Neural plasticity is the brain's ability to build new neural connection throughout life to adapt for several factors. The work in this thesis is built on two kinds of neural plasticity, respiratory long-term facilitation (rLTF) and memory formation. Respiratory LTF: Obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) is a chronic disorder which is characterised by repeated partial or complete airway obstruction during sleep, which leads to intermittent hypoxia (IH). Chronic IH is strongly linked to the increased blood pressure, pulmonary artery pressure, and oxidative stress associated with OSA. Ironically, IH can induce rLTF which enhances ventilation and maintains airway patency, but the utilisation of this intervention is limited due to the complications of IH. Applying intermittent negative airway pressure (INAP) has shown potential for rLTF. One of our studies looked at the possibility of hypoglossal LTF in humans by INAP. Furthermore, we looked at the effects of prolonged exposure to INAP on the blood pressure, pulmonary artery pressure, and oxidative stress on healthy subjects. Memory formation: We looked at the effect of experimental sleep fragmentation on the consolidation of episodic memory. On the other hand, we also looked at the effect of targeted memory reactivation (TMR) paradigm during wakefulness or during nap on memory consolidation