Lewis Group
The Lewis Group is based at the School of Psychology, Cardiff University.
Research Themes
Mapping & rebalancing memory
We are particularly interested in triggering the brain to practice memories during sleep. This ‘brainwashing’ can strengthen target memories, helping the brain to make new connections and think creatively. It can also be used to make upsetting memories less bothersome and may eventually be used in treating Depression and PTSD.
Understanding & Engineering sleeping brain
We examine ways in which the sleeping brain processes information, and how this can be nudged in order to improve memory, enhance creativity, and improve mental wellbeing. We are also working on ways to slow down the aging process by artificially boosting sleep oscillations.
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Recent Papers
Targeted memory reactivation elicits temporally compressed reactivation linked to spindles.
2026. Imaging Neurosci (Camb), 4.
Free Full Text at Europe PMC
PMC12869320
Could sleep engineering be used to combat PTSD and depression?
2026. PLoS Biol, 24(2)e3003633.
Free Full Text at Europe PMC
PMC12928472
Disarming emotional memories using targeted memory reactivation during rapid eye movement sleep.
2025. Imaging Neurosci (Camb), 3.
Free Full Text at Europe PMC
PMC12516159
Dopamine encoding of novelty facilitates efficient uncertainty-driven exploration.
2024. PLoS Comput Biol, 20(4)e1011516.
Free Full Text at Europe PMC
PMC11051659
Recent Preprints
Your Emotions, My Brain: Generalizable Neural Signatures of Emotional Memory Reactivation During Sleep
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