Prior work investigating the effect of sleep on false memory using the Deese-Roediger-McDermott paradigm has yielded equivocal results. Here, we sought to clarify the effect of sleep on false memory using the misinformation paradigm. Participants watched a film of a mock robbery, were given post-event misinformation about the film, and completed a recognition test after a 12-hour retention interval that consisted of waking activity or sleep. We manipulated when participants received misinformation; half received misinformation after watching the film and before the retention interval and half received misinformation after the retention interval, before the test. Thus, for participants who slept, half received misinformation prior to sleep and half received it after a sleep period. Most interesting, we found an interaction between sleep condition and timing of misinformation. In the sleep group, participants who received misinformation before the retention interval showed higher false memory than those who received misinformation after the retention interval. Timing of misinformation did not affect false memory in the wake condition. These results suggest that consolidation processes can have opposite effects on false memory. If conflicting information is presented after sleep, consolidation protects memory from distortion possibly by mitigating interference effects. However, the same consolidation processes may increase distortion if conflicting information is presented prior to sleep possibly by integrating related memories that are available at the time of sleep (i.e. the true event and the conflicting information). This work has implications for theories of memory and applied implications for the criminal justice system.
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