Finitude of Memory – when memories dissolve in sleep – LatBrain SfN Brain Bee

First-Person Consciousness

I am the memory I carry with me. During the day, I sustain recollections to give meaning to who I am: faces, paths, fears, and achievements. Some memories strengthen me, others wound me. But when night comes, I am invited to finitude: I cease to be a rigid sequence of records, I dissolve fragments, reorganize narratives, and in the silence of deep sleep I find rest. In dissolution, I discover that I am not only memory — I am a living flow, always in transformation.

1) Memory as support and burden

• Initial function: consolidate experiences, guide decisions, build identity.
  
  

• In chronic pain and trauma: memory can become fixed in painful records, turning into a repetitive prison.
  
  

• Natural finitude: in sleep, recent memories stabilize, emotional memories are integrated, and traumatic memories may be softened.
  
  

• Blocked finitude: when the sleep cycle is fragmented, traumatic memories remain active and may invade dreams, preventing rest.
  
  

• Relation vs. causality: there is a clear relation between sleep fragmentation and persistence of traumatic memories. To demonstrate causality, interventions are needed — such as metacognition, critical fruition, exposure therapy, or sleep-targeted stimulation — while recording EEG (spindles, slow waves) and fNIRS (prefrontal deoxygenation in N3).
  
  

2) Sleep as a process of memory dissolution

• N1: recent memories emerge as loose fragments, without narrative sequence.
  
  

• N2: sleep spindles and K-complexes stabilize declarative and motor memories.
  
  

• N3: deep consolidation and pruning; traumatic memories may be softened through slow-wave integration.
  
  

• REM tonic: revisits images and scenarios without linearity.
  
  

• REM phasic: rewrites emotional memories into dreamlike narratives, linking feeling and recollection.
  
  

In chronic pain and PTSD, both N3 and REM are impaired, keeping traumatic memories active and increasing daytime vigilance.

3) Neuroscience of memory in sleep

• EEG: spindles in N2 and slow waves in N3 are markers of consolidation. In trauma, spindle fragmentation and frequent awakenings are common.
  
  

• fNIRS: lower oxygenation in the prefrontal cortex during N3 → better memory integration. In insomnia and PTSD, the PFC remains active.
  
  

• Integration: dissolution of memory depends on balance between emotional networks (amygdala) and prefrontal networks.
  
  

• Possibility: interventions enhancing N3 (e.g., slow music, paced breathing, auditory stimulation of slow waves) may reduce the burden of traumatic memories.
  
  

• Probability: studies suggest that longer N3 duration increases the chance of healthy consolidation and reduces intrusive memories.
  
  

4) From the Whole to measurement – research hypotheses

• EEG–Spindles/N2: higher spindle density predicts better declarative consolidation.
  
  

• EEG–Slow waves/N3: greater delta amplitude correlates with lower intensity of traumatic memories.
  
  

• fNIRS–Prefrontal: greater PFC deoxygenation during N3 indicates better memory processing.
  
  

• REM–Emotional integration: more phasic REM favors memory–emotion integration into less intrusive narratives.
  
  

5) Methodological note on sampling (EEG/fNIRS and SpO₂)

EEG and fNIRS capture oscillations and cortical hemodynamics, but do not directly monitor the body’s metabolic state. SpO₂ between 92–94% (Zone 2) is a marker of high-performance daytime attention, but it must dissolve during sleep to allow memories to be reorganized. If this parameter is not included, one risks studying only cortical activity without integrating the metabolic foundation that sustains memory consolidation and pruning.

6) For clinicians and caregivers

• Promote stable sleep routines to support N2 and N3.
  
  

• In palliative care: guided memory rituals (positive recollections, gentle narratives) can aid dissolution.
  
  

• Avoid exposure to traumatic stimuli before sleep.
  
  

• Show patients that forgetting fragments at night is not failure, but the natural process of memory finitude.
  
  

7) Indicative References

EEG and memory/sleep

• Reid et al., 2023 – Review on EEG and memory consolidation.
  
  

• Recent studies (2022–2024) – Spindle density as biomarker of memory integration.
  
  

• Zebhauser et al., PAIN, 2023 – Oscillations and memory in neuropathic pain.
  
  

fNIRS and memory

• Luo et al., 2024 – Prefrontal connectivity and consolidation linked to analgesia.
  
  

• Shafiei et al., 2025 – fNIRS in memory–emotion integration.
  
  

Sleep and trauma

• Irwin et al., PAIN, 2023 – N3 loss increases inflammation and weakens consolidation.
  
  

• PTSD studies (2022–2024) – Memory intrusions linked to failure of N3 and REM.
  
  

Signature

Finitude should bring peace with new Consciousness — maturity with inoscience.

Footnote: Zone 2 corresponds to the relaxation of interoceptive and proprioceptive tensions — a state in which mTOR is deactivated, enabling recovery, fruition, and metabolic reorganization.