However, Dr Neil Stanley, of the University of Surrey, said sleep loss harmed spatial learning, although the brain could rise to the "spatial learning" challenge in the short-term it would struggle eventually.

BBC: Spatial memory works in a similar way in rats and humans

In earlier experiments, designed to replicate normal learning, Dr Tononi found that the part of the brain showing most slow-wave activity during sleep was the same as the part that had been activated during the experiment.

ECONOMIST: Memory formation