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Sleep-dependent consolidation effects on foreign language word acquisition in a virtual reality environment

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Sleep-dependent consolidation is important for novel word learning, but previous studies have neglected the potential modulating role of learning environments. The present study examines sleep-dependent consolidation effects by comparing learning in a virtual reality (VR) environment and in a traditional picture-word (PW) environment. Two groups of Chinese–English bilinguals were randomly assigned to a VR or PW environment. In both learning environments, they learned novel words in Korean, a language with which they had no prior experience. All participants learned one set of novel words on Day 1 and another set on Day 2. An explicit recognition task and an implicit primed lexical-decision task were employed to measure sleep-dependent consolidation effects from the two environments. Results revealed sleep-dependent consolidation effects in both explicit and implicit measures, but only the primed lexical-decision task showed an influence of learning environment, suggesting that novel words learned via VR had better consolidation. Taken together, our findings suggest that a VR environment that fosters a rich sensory experience facilitates sleep-dependent consolidation effects. We argue that these results provide new evidence and implications for the complementary learning system (CLS) model.
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Vol:.(1234567890)
Memory & Cognition (2024) 52:302–311
https://doi.org/10.3758/s13421-023-01461-z
1 3
Sleep‑dependent consolidation effects onforeign language word
acquisition inavirtual reality environment
CongLiu1· YannaMao1· XiaohanWang1· JohnW.Schwieter2,3· LuJiao1
Accepted: 23 August 2023 / Published online: 4 October 2023
© The Psychonomic Society, Inc. 2023
Abstract
Sleep-dependent consolidation is important for novel word learning, but previous studies have neglected the potential modu-
lating role of learning environments. The present study examines sleep-dependent consolidation effects by comparing learning
in a virtual reality (VR) environment and in a traditional picture-word (PW) environment. Two groups of Chinese–English
bilinguals were randomly assigned to a VR or PW environment. In both learning environments, they learned novel words in
Korean, a language with which they had no prior experience. All participants learned one set of novel words on Day 1 and
another set on Day 2. An explicit recognition task and an implicit primed lexical-decision task were employed to measure
sleep-dependent consolidation effects from the two environments. Results revealed sleep-dependent consolidation effects in
both explicit and implicit measures, but only the primed lexical-decision task showed an influence of learning environment,
suggesting that novel words learned via VR had better consolidation. Taken together, our findings suggest that a VR envi-
ronment that fosters a rich sensory experience facilitates sleep-dependent consolidation effects. We argue that these results
provide new evidence and implications for the complementary learning system (CLS) model.
Keywords Novel word acquisition· Sleep-dependent consolidation· Semantic priming· Virtual reality
Word acquisition is crucial for foreign-language learning
(Hacking & Tschirner, 2017; Tartaro etal., 2021), given that
it is fundamentally linked to other linguistic performance,
including grammatical and general communicative abilities
(Barcroft, 2004; Kern, 1989; Proctor etal., 2005; Smidt &
Hegelheimer, 2004). However, word acquisition is a chal-
lenge for many learners, a likely reason for why researchers
and educators are interested in how to best address it (Lan
etal., 2015; Li & Jeong, 2020). A key factor facilitating
novel words into lexical networks is sleep-dependent consol-
idation, which helps to integrate novel words with existing
ones (Liu & van Hell, 2020; Tartaro etal., 2021). The idea
that sleep is important to memory consolidation and neural
plasticity is long standing (Graves, 1936; Klinzing etal.,
2016). Despite accumulated evidence examining the role of
sleep-dependent consolidation on word acquisition, stud-
ies have been limited to traditional learning environments
through picture–word/word–word association paired learn-
ing. It remains unclear as to how sleep-dependent consolida-
tion affects novel word acquisition in a (simulated) realistic
learning environment, an issue tested in the present study.
Background
The theoretical motivation of the present study is the com-
plementary learning system (CLS) model (Davis & Gaskell,
2009; McClelland etal., 1995). The CLS model emphasizes
that there are two stages of word acquisition—namely, the
initial familiarization stage and the slow lexical consolida-
tion stage (Davis & Gaskell, 2009; Kumaran etal., 2016).
In the rapid initial familiarity stage, novel words are hypoth-
esized to be quickly encoded into episodic memory through
the hippocampus system and related regions of the medial
temporal lobe, allowing learners to recall novel words
* Lu Jiao
jiaolu902@126.com
1 Department ofPsychology, Normal College & School
ofTeacher Education, Qingdao University, NingXia R,
No.308, Qingdao266071, China
2 Language Acquisition, Multilingualism, andCognition
Laboratory/Bilingualism Matters @ Wilfrid Laurier
University, Waterloo, Canada
3 Department ofLinguistics andLanguages, McMaster
University, Hamilton, Canada
303Memory & Cognition (2024) 52:302–311
1 3
immediately. In the slow lexical consolidation stage, off-line
consolidation transforms hippocampus memory representa-
tions to stable and long-term neocortical representations and
allows novel words to interact with existing ones. Overall,
according to theCLS model, off-line consolidation may be
a central feature of novel word acquisition which contrib-
utes to the integration of novel words into existing lexical
networks (Liu & van Hell, 2020; Palma & Titone, 2021).
Empirical evidence has supported the indispensable role
of off-line consolidation on novel word acquisition (Bakker
etal., 2015; Dumay & Gaskell, 2007; Lindsay & Gaskell,
2013; Szmalec etal., 2012). To investigate off-line consoli-
dation, the primed lexical-decision task, which combines
a semantic decision with a primed task, is often used to
measure novel word acquisition (Liu & van Hell, 2020). It
is typically found that responses to target words (e.g., “cat”)
that are preceded by semantically related prime words (e.g.,
“dog”) yield shorter response times and higher accuracy
compared with words with semantically unrelated prime
words (e.g., “pen”), an observation typically referred to as
the semantic priming effect (e.g., Lei etal., 2022; Liu & van
Hell, 2020; Meyer & Schvaneveldt, 1971). For example, in
a study by Tamminen and Gaskell (2013), two groups of
participants were required to learn novel words and were
subsequently tested by an explicit definition recall task and
an implicit primed lexical-decision task. The difference
between the two groups was the extent of off-line consoli-
dation: For one group, there was a time interval for off-line
consolidation between learning and testing, and for the other
group, there was no time interval. The results of the primed
lexical-decision task revealed that participants responded
faster to semantically related trials than semantically unre-
lated trials only for these words learned with off-line con-
solidation time, suggesting the importance of off-line con-
solidation in word acquisition.
Despite some studies revealing that off-line consolida-
tion effects can be triggered without sleeping between learn-
ing and testing (Lindsay & Gaskell, 2013; Palma & Titone,
2021), a widely accepted viewpoint is that sleep is impor-
tant for off-line consolidation effects (Bakker etal., 2015;
Kurdziel etal., 2017; Kurdziel & Spencer, 2016; McClel-
land etal., 1995; Tham etal., 2015; Wang etal., 2017).
For instance, in a study by Dumay and Gaskell (2007), two
groups of participants learned novel words and were then
tested at three time points. A “morning group” learned novel
words in the morning and was required to complete the first
test immediately after learning, a second test 12 hours after
learning (i.e., on the same day without sleep), and a third
test 24 hours after learning (i.e., the next day after having
slept). The second group, “the evening group,” received the
same learning in the evening immediately followed by a test,
and a second and third test (12 and 24 hours later, respec-
tively) were completed the following day (i.e., after having
slept). Behavioral results showed that despite the absence of
a consolidation effect in the immediate test for both groups,
the evening group showed off-line consolidation effects
in both delay tests, whereas the morning group failed to
observe the consolidation effect after the 12-hour period
without sleep. Similar findings were reported by Kurdziel
and Spencer (2016), whose results supported the function of
sleep-dependent consolidation effects on novel word acquisi-
tion. Taken together, these findings suggest that compared
with wakefulness, sleep is an important and effective way to
examine off-line consolidation effects. When individuals are
in a state of sleep, there is no need for their brain to receive
and process new stimulus, thus providing the opportunity
to allocate more cognitive resources to consolidate learning
and establish memory (McClelland etal., 1995).
However, further neuroscientific evidence for sleep-
dependent consolidation has indicated that novel words after
consolidation cannot function as stable lexical representa-
tions compared with existing words (Bakker etal., 2015;
Lei etal., 2022; Liu & van Hell, 2020). For instance, Bak-
ker and colleagues (2015) required participants to learn a
set of novel words on Day 1 (Set 1, remote condition) and
another set on Day 2 (Set 2, recent condition). Immediately
after the learning on Day 2, participants were administered
a definition recall-task, a comprehension-based recogni-
tion task, and a primed lexical-decision task to measure
learning outcomes and consolidation effects. Behavioral
and electrophysiological data revealed that for the remote
condition, sleep-dependent consolidation after learning
contributed tothe semantic processing of novel words, but
lexical retrieval was more strategic and less automatic than
for existing words. Later, Liu and van Hell (2020) repli-
cated the same design of Bakker etal. (2015), but added a
retest on Day 8 to increase the off-line consolidation period.
The findings also revealed that novel words learned after
sleep-dependent consolidation were not fully integrated into
the semantic network compared with existing words. Thus,
sleep-dependent consolidation may be a gradual and pro-
tracted process (see also Tartaro etal., 2021).
One potential explanation for slower integration pro-
cesses is that sleep-dependent consolidation studies have
been limited to traditional learning environments, such as
word– word pairs, word–picture pairs, and word–definition
association learning (Lei etal., 2022; Liu & van Hell, 2020).
The levels-of-processing theory emphasizes that enriched
learning environments (e.g., novel words learned in the real
world or learned with bodily involvement) boost learning
because encoding and semantic integration involve several
levels (Craik & Lockhart, 1972; Li & Jeong, 2020). Accord-
ing to the levels-of-processing theory, when learners in tradi-
tional learning environments memorize isolated novel words
by focusing on their spelling and translation, the processing
mechanisms involved are shallow and consequently make
304 Memory & Cognition (2024) 52:302–311
1 3
semantic integration occur at a slow space. In a (simulated)
realistic environment, on the contrary, which involves a
rich sensory experience, learners can establish a direct link
between novel words and their concepts by interacting with
target objects within a contextualized environment. This
learning environment may lead to deeper processing that
facilitates semantic integration and consolidation effects
(Lan etal., 2015; Li & Jeong, 2020). The potential effects
of learning environment on word acquisition and consoli-
dation could be theoretically supported by embodied cog-
nition theory which emphasizes that whole-body interac-
tions positively shape experience and knowledge (Barsalou,
2008). However, for many foreign language learners, acquir-
ing novel words in a realistic environment, such as being
in the country in which the target language is spoken, is
unattainable.
Recently, the development of virtual reality (VR) technol-
ogy, with immersive involvement and interaction character-
istics, provides an opportunity to simulate realistic learning
environments. In a VR environment, learners can hear novel
words, interact with target 3D objects, and physically move
throughout the virtual environment (Alfadil, 2020). This
context offers learners a rich multisensory, interactive expe-
rience, which is similar to the learning experience in realistic
learning environments. Some studies have demonstrated that
VR is an effective tool for language acquisition (e.g., Chen
etal., 2020; Legault etal., 2019; Xie etal., 2019). A study
by Jiao etal. (2023) asked Chinese–English bilinguals to
learn two sets of L2 German words in either a picture–word
association environment or animmersive VR environment.
Behavioral data collected immediately after the treatment
revealed a positive effect of immersive VR environment
on early lexical form acquisition of novel words. Similarly,
Legault etal. (2019) found that novel words learned via a VR
environment are more quickly acquired than in a word–word
learning environment. However, because relevant findings
on the effects of learning environment have mainly focused
on learning outcomes, it remains unclear as to whether a VR
environment influences or interacts with sleep-dependent
consolidation effects during novel word acquisition.
Present study
In the present study, we compare whether a VR environment
with multisensory experiences differentially affects sleep-
dependent consolidation effects of acquiring novel words in
a foreign language compared with picture–word (PW) asso-
ciation learning. Following the same procedures of Liu and
van Hell (2020), two groups of Chinese–English bilinguals
received two consecutive days of learning sessions in which
they learned novel Korean words. One group learned these
novel words in a VR environment and the other group did
so via PW learning. After the learning session on Day 2, we
tested the learning effects using a four-alternative forced-
choice task (4AFC) and a primed lexical-decision task. Spe-
cifically, the 4AFC task is based on the conscious processing
of lexical recognition, mainly reflecting the explicit learn-
ing effects; while the primed lexical-decision task reflects
automatic processing and implicit learning effects (Palma &
Titone, 2021; Tartaro etal., 2021).
For both explicit and implicit learning measures, one pri-
mary concern was the role of sleep interval by comparing
words learned on Day 1 (remote condition) to those learned
on Day 2 (recent condition). As the CLS model indicated
that off-line consolidation would contribute to novel word
acquisition (Liu & van Hell, 2020; Palma & Titone, 2021),
we expect that remotely learned words with a sleep inter-
val will be better consolidated in the explicit 4AFC task
as reflected by a faster recognition speeds of remotely
learned words, and in the implicit primed lexical-decision
task by showing faster responses to semantic relatedness
decisions on remotely learned words. For the role of learn-
ing environment, given that the embodied cognition theory
emphasizes the contribution of sensorimotor experiences
(Barsalou, 2008), we predict better learning performance
for words learned in the VR environment compared with
words learned in the PW environment. More importantly,
we anticipate an influence of learning environment on the
sleep-dependent effect, showing a greater sleep-dependent
effect (namely remotely vs. recently learned words) in the
VR environment than in the PW environment. Through
these comparisons, we are thus able to examine whether the
sleep-dependent consolidation effect is influenced by learn-
ing environment.
Method
Participants
Sixty-seven right-handed college students (48 females, Mage
= 20.30 years, SD = 1.63) were recruited and randomly
divided into a VR or PW group. Seven participants were
excluded because of their low accuracy (<75%) in the 4AFC
task, thus leaving 60 participants to be included in the statis-
tical analyses (VR group: N = 31; PW group: N = 29). This
sample exceeded the minimum sample size of 54 calculated
by G*Power 3.1 (repeated-measures analysis of variance
[ANOVA], f = .25, α = .05, power = .95, number of groups
= 2). Participants were asked to complete a language back-
ground questionnaire in which they rated their L1 Chinese
and L2 English proficiency levels based on a 7-point scale (1
= very poor, 7 = excellent). Paired-samples t tests revealed
that the L1 proficiency ratings (M = 6.49, SD = .68) were
significantly higher than L2 ratings (M = 4.45, SD = .81), t
305Memory & Cognition (2024) 52:302–311
1 3
= 16.26, p < .05. However, there was no significant differ-
ence between the two groups in terms of L1 proficiency (VR
= 6.59, PW = 6.39), t(58) = 1.14, p = .26, or L2 proficiency
(VR = 4.43, PW = 4.46), t(58) = −.18, p = .86. Moreover,
all participants reported no prior knowledge of Korean, the
third language (L3) in which the novel words were to be
learned in the experiment. The study was approved by the
research ethics committee at the same university, and all
participants provided their informed consent before partici-
pating in the study.
On Day 2, the participants completed a survey adapted
from the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI; Buysse
etal., 1989; Lei etal., 2022) about their sleep quality over
the past month and on the night of Day 1. The PSQI consists
of 18 self-rated items, four of which are open-ended ques-
tions and the other 14 items are scored on a 4-point Likert
scale (0–3). The PSQI provides subscale measures of seven
components: subjective sleep quality, sleep latency, sleep
duration, habitual sleep efficiency, sleep disturbances, use
of sleeping medication, and daytime dysfunction. The total
score of the PSQI ranges from 0 to 21, with lower scores
indicating better sleep quality. The Chinese version of PSQI
has been shown to be reliable and valid when assessing the
sleep quality among adults in China (Liu etal., 1996). The
participants reported having good sleep quality during the
last month and 92% reported having normal or higher than
usual sleep quality on the night of Day 1. There was no
significant difference in sleep duration on the night of Day
1 between the two groups: PW group (M = 7.09, SD = .84);
VR group (M = 7.27, SD = .84), t(58) = .83, p = .41.
Materials
The materials in the present study included 30 single Korean
Hangul characters, 30 2D line drawings, 30 3D objects, and
a virtual scene. The Korean Hangul characters consisted of
4–9 strokes (M = 5.93, SD = 1.26). The sounds of the char-
acters were recorded by a highly proficient Korean female
speaker. The rationale for choosing Korean as the target lan-
guage is because all participants reported no prior knowl-
edge or experience with Korean. Previous work examining
Chinese–English bilinguals has also selected Korean as the
target language (Li etal., 2019; Qu etal., 2021).
For the VR learning environment, a virtual kitchen envi-
ronment was presented and edited by the software Unity
(https:// unity. com). Moreover, the 3D objects were selected
from a standardized database (Peeters, 2018) by considering
the familiarity, visual complexity, and the appropriateness of
their fit in the virtual environment (i.e., a kitchen). For the
PW learning environment, all 2D line drawings correspond-
ing to selected 3D objects were chosen from Snodgrass and
Vanderwart’s (1980) standardized picture list (also see
Zhang & Yang, 2003). The pairings of 3D objects and 2D
line drawings were randomly assigned to the Korean Hangul
characters and served as semantics of the characters (Qu
etal., 2021).
For the primed lexical-decision task, two Chinese seman-
tically related prime words and two Chinese semantically
unrelated prime words were selected for each Korean Hangul
character. We asked a control group of 22 L1 Chinese speak-
ers with a similar L2 background and proficiency in Eng-
lish as our participants to assess whether the Chinese prime
words were related to the target Korean words on a 7-point
scale (1 = very unrelated, 7 = very related). Results showed
that the relatedness of the semantically related word pairs
was significantly higher than for the semantically unrelated
word pairs, t(118) = 17.09, p < .001.
Procedure
The study consisted of two learning sessions over the course
of two consecutive days. After the learning session on Day
2, both groups were required to complete a 4AFC task and a
primed lexical-decision task. An overview of the procedure
can be seen in Fig.1.
Learning sessions
The VR and PW groups learned the same 30 Korean Hangul
characters, with 15 of the words (Set 1) being learned on
Day 1 (remote words) and the other 15 words (Set 2) being
learned on Day 2 (recent words). The sets of novel words
presented in the two training sessions were counterbalanced
across participants. A crucial difference between the remote
and recent words is that the former, but not the latter, has
the opportunity for sleep-dependent memory consolida-
tion. Participants in the PW group learned novel words on a
computer screen which displayed Korean Hangul characters
and 2D line-drawings. By clicking the mouse, the Korean
pronunciation of the character was heard. For the VR group,
participants learned novel words in a simulated kitchen
environment supported by VR technology. Prior to learning
the Korean words, the participants were shown how to use
and interact with the VR equipment. After the familiarity
with the equipment, they maneuvered around and interacted
with target objects in the virtual kitchen environment. They
used the handset to laser point to 3D objects. Upon select-
ing the objects, they saw a target Korean Hangul character
and heard its pronunciation. Compared with PW learning,
the VR environment provides learners with a first-person,
dynamic experience and an opportunity to actively explore
an environment, fostering an immersive experience (Chen,
2016). On each day, both PW and VR groups received a
training session for 30 minutes which consisted of 15 min-
utes of fixed order learning and 15 minutes of free learning.
306 Memory & Cognition (2024) 52:302–311
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Test session
After the word-learning session on Day 2, both groups per-
formed a 4AFC task and a primed lexical-decision task in
a fixed order. In the 4AFC task, each novel word was pre-
sented with four pictures and participants were required to
select the correct picture of thetarget word. The pictures
were 2D line drawings for the PW group, and were 2D ver-
sions of the 3D objects for the VR group. There were 30
trials consisting of 15 trials for remote words and 15 trials
for recent words. Each trial began with a fixation point on a
computer screen for 600 ms followed by a visually presented
novel word with four pictures. Once participants gave an
answer by pressing the button corresponding to one of the
pictures, a blank screen was presented for 1,000 ms prior to
the next trial. Before the formal experiment, the participants
were presented with 5 practice trials to familiarize them-
selves with the procedure.
The primed lexical-decision task consisted of four
blocks, with each block including 30 trials which were
presented in a random order. Each participant performed
30 remote-related trials, 30 remote-unrelated trials, 30
recent-related trials, and 30 recent-unrelated trials. Each
target novel word was matched with four L1 prime words
(two semantically related primes and two semantically
unrelated primes) and was only presented once in the same
block. Trials began with a fixation cross that was presented
at the center of a computer screen for 600 ms. Next, a
prime word (Chinese) was presented for 250 ms, followed
by a blank screen for 250 ms. A target word (Korean) was
then presented for 1,000 ms and participants were required
to determine whether the prime word was related to the
target word or not by pressing the left or right button on
the keyboard. The response keys were counterbalanced
across participants. Once a response was given, a blank
screen was presented for 1,000 ms prior to the next trial.
Before the formal experiment, a practice block of five tri-
als was presented to help participants become familiar
with the procedure.
Results
Comprehension‑based recognition task (4AFC task)
A 2 (learning environment: PW vs. VR) × 2 (condition:
remote vs. recent) repeated-measures ANOVA was per-
formed on the accuracy data. The results showed no main
effects or interaction of learning environment or condition
(ps > .05). For the analyses of reaction times (RTs), incor-
rect trials and trials that were ±2 standard deviations from
the mean were excluded (Bakker etal., 2015). An ANOVA
on RTs showed that the main effect of condition was sig-
nificant, F(1, 58) = 22.84, p < .001,
𝜂2
p
= .28, indicating
faster responses to remote words (M = 3887, SD = 144)
than to recent words (M = 4920, SD = 148). However, the
main effect of learning environment, F(1, 58) = .02, p =
.89,
𝜂2
p
< .001, and their interaction was not significant,
F(1, 58) = 3.33, p = .07,
𝜂2
p
= .05 (see Fig.2).
Fig. 1 Experiment procedure. The last two rows provide examples of a trial (the third row: VR environment; the fourth row: PW environment).
(Color figure online)
307Memory & Cognition (2024) 52:302–311
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Primed lexical‑decision task
For the primed-lexical decision task, we included two
within-subject variables (semantic relatedness and con-
dition) and one between-subject variable (learning envi-
ronment). The ANOVA analysis on accuracy showed a
significant main effect of condition, F(1, 58) = 5.84, p =
.02,
𝜂2
p
= .09, which indicated that accuracy was higher for
remote words (M = 87%, SD = .99) than for recent words
(M = 84%, SD = 1.08). The main effect of learning envi-
ronment was also significant, F(1, 58) = 4.71, p = .03,
𝜂2
p
= .08, showing a higher accuracy for VR (M = 88%, SD
= 1.20) than for PW (M = 84%, SD = 1.24). Moreover,
the main effect of semantic relatedness was significant,
F(1, 58) = 46.98, p < .001,
𝜂2
p
= .45, showing a higher
accuracy for unrelated prime–target words (M = 90%, SD
= 1.04) than for related prime–target words (M = 81%, SD
= 1.14). The two-way and three-way interactions were not
significant (ps > .05).
Incorrect trials and RTs ±2 standard deviations from the
mean or over 5,000 ms were removed from the RTs anal-
yses. The results of RTs showed a significant main effect
of condition, F(1, 58) = 24.32, p < .001,
𝜂2
p
= .30, sug-
gesting faster responses to remote words (M = 1017, SD =
36) than to recent words (M = 1133, SD = 43). The main
effect of semantic relatedness was also significant, F(1, 58)
= 158.35, p < .001,
𝜂2
p
= .73, showing faster responses to
related prime–target words (M = 897, SD = 31) than unre-
lated prime–target words (M = 1,254, SD = 48). Moreover, a
significant interaction between condition and semantic relat-
edness, F(1, 58) = 6.36, p = .01,
𝜂2
p
= .10, further revealed
that despite semantic priming effects (semantically related
vs. semantically unrelated pairs) across remote words, F(1,
59) = 77.85, p < .001,
𝜂2
p
= .57, and recent words, F(1, 59)
= 95.80, p < .001,
𝜂2
p
= .62, an enhanced semantic priming
effect on recent words (related: M = 921, SD = 37; unre-
lated: M = 1,345, SD = 57) was observed compared with
remote words (related: M = 872, SD = 32; unrelated: M =
1,163, SD = 46).
Although there was no main effect of learning envi-
ronment, F(1, 58) = .33, p = .57,
𝜂2
p
= .01, the interaction
between condition and learning environment was significant,
F(1, 58) = 6.41, p = .01,
𝜂2
p
= .10. Further analyses showed
that the comparison between remote words and recent words
(i.e., sleep-dependent effect) was significant in the VR group
(remote: M = 1,010, SD = 50; recent: M = 1,185, SD = 60)
F(1, 58) = 28.81, p < .001,
𝜂2
p
= .33, but only marginally
significant in the PW group (remote: M = 1025, SD = 51;
recent: M = 1082, SD = 62), F(1, 58) = 2.79, p = .10,
𝜂2
p
=
.05, suggesting that learning environment has an influence
on the sleep-dependent effect. Moreover, neither the two-
way interaction between learning environment and semantic
relatedness, F(1, 58) = .08, p = .77,
𝜂2
p
= .001, nor the three-
way interaction, F(1, 58) = .31, p = .58,
𝜂2
p
= .005, reached
significance (seeFig.3).
Discussion
The present study examined the influence of learning envi-
ronments (PW vs. VR) on sleep-dependent consolidation
effects from explicit and implicit aspects during novel word
acquisition. In our analyses, we focused on two comparisons.
First, the comparison between remote words after having
slept and recent words without having slept was significant
in both explicit and implicit measures, suggesting that a
sleep-dependent consolidation effect occurred. Second,
in the implicit measure, the significantly faster responses
to remote words compared with recent words was only
observed in the VR environment, suggesting that learning
environment may play a role in sleep-dependent consolida-
tion during novel words acquisition. We will elaborate on
our main findings in the next subsections.
Fig. 2 Violin plots for accuracy scores (A) and reaction time (B) in the 4AFC task. The boxplot shows the interquartile range. White dots repre-
sent means. (Color figure online)
308 Memory & Cognition (2024) 52:302–311
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Sleep‑dependent consolidation
A main finding of the present study is the presence of a
sleep-dependent consolidation effect which was reflected
by the significant main effect of condition (remote vs.
recent) in both explicit and implicit measures. On the one
hand, the explicit recognition task (4AFC task) revealed
faster RTs to remote words compared with recent words,
consistent with some previous studies (e.g., Liu & van
Hell, 2020). Although Y. Liu and van Hell adopted a
recall task which differed from the recognition task in
the present study, both of their measures examined sleep-
dependent consolidation effects in explicit learning. The
results of their recall task revealed higher accuracy for
novel words learned in the remote condition than in the
recent condition.
On the other hand, our findings revealed that sleep-
dependent consolidation effects implicitly measured by a
primed lexical-decision task also occurred, in which there
was a significant difference between remote and recent
words in both accuracy and RTs. This finding is in line
with our expectation that remotely learned novel words
receive off-line consolidation during a sleep interval,
establishing better links with the existing lexical network.
Moreover, the significant semantic priming effects on
remote words, to some extent, also support sleep-depend-
ent consolidation. Based on previous studies (Tamminen
& Gaskell, 2013), a semantic priming effect on remote
words may imply that remote words after a sleep interval
are better integrated into the semantic network and might
establish a more stable link with existing words. However,
we unpredictably observed a semantic priming effect in
recent words without sleep. This is likely because off-line
consolidation may also take shape in the interval between
learning and testing without sleep (Geukes etal., 2015;
Lindsay & Gaskell, 2013; Szmalec etal., 2012).
The role oflearning environment
The other key finding of present study is the role of learning
environment observed only in the implicit measures. In the
primed lexical-decision task, novel words learned via the
VR environment had higher accuracy than words learned in
the PW environment, which was reflected by the significant
main effect of Learning environment on accuracy. Consistent
with previous studies, this finding indicates that the multi-
sensory experience supported by VR technology has a posi-
tive effect on novel word learning and supports the embodied
cognition theory (Legault etal., 2019; Li & Jeong, 2020).
Moreover, we observed that the learning environment inter-
acted with sleep effects (i.e., comparison between remote
and recent words) in the RT analyses, such that there was
evidence supporting the larger sleep-dependent effects in the
VR environment than in the PW environment.
The facilitative effects of the VR environment on sleep-
dependent consolidation align with our hypotheses. Accord-
ing to the CLS model, in the rapid initial familiarity stage,
novel words and relevant information may be quickly
encoded into episodic memory and then transferred to
long-term stable representations during lexical consolida-
tion (Davis & Gaskell, 2009; McClelland etal., 1995). Com-
pared with the unisensory input from a traditional learning
environment, the multisensory experience from a VR envi-
ronment may benefit the rapid encoding of novel words and
relevant information into episodic memory, improving the
development of episodic memory by interacting with target
objects and surrounding environment (Morganti etal., 2013;
Repetto etal., 2016). Consequently, the enriched episodic
memory established in VR learning promotes the subsequent
process of sleep-dependent consolidation, resulting in bet-
ter consolidation effects via a VR environment than tradi-
tional environments. However, it was unexpected that the
influence of the VR environment on sleep-dependent effects
Fig. 3 Violin plots for accuracy scores (A) and reaction time (B) in the primed lexical-decision task. The boxplot shows the interquartile range.
White dots represent means. (Color figure online)
309Memory & Cognition (2024) 52:302–311
1 3
only occurred in the implicit, but not explicit learning test.
One possible explanation for this finding might be related to
the specificity of encoding and retrieval process in memory
(Godden & Baddeley, 1975; Tulving & Thomson, 1973).
The advantages of a VR environment mainly stem from rich
surroundings which have been encoded implicitly, thus the
helpful information may be easier to retrieve in the same
implicit way as the encoding process. Future work should
consider controlling for the encoding and retrieval process
to further explore VR environment effect.
We acknowledge that there aresome unexpected findings
in the primed lexical-decision task. First, that accuracy for
unrelated trials was higher than related trials, although this is
not an isolated finding because previous studies about novel
word acquisition have also reported similar results (e.g.,
Bakker etal., 2015; Kaczer etal., 2018; Liu & van Hell,
2020). It is possible that novel words may not have gener-
ated stable representations as existing words because lexical
integration is a gradual and protracted process, making the
semantic priming effects seem unlike existing words. Sec-
ond, the RT comparisons between remote words and recent
words in the PW environment were unexpected and merit
further investigation. One possible explanation is that novel
word learning with visually presented pictures and words
may trigger superficial learning, and the limited information
about novel words may not be sufficient to reflect thecon-
solidation effect in RTs. This finding is an open question
worthy of further investigation. Finally, the present study
was limited to analyses of behavioral performance. Future
studies may benefit from using the high temporal resolution
offered by EEG technology to explore the consolidation pro-
cesses elicited by a VR learning environment.
Conclusion
The present study investigated whether the rich sensory
experience of a VR environment affects sleep-dependent
consolidation effects during novel word learning in a foreign
language as compared with a traditional learning environ-
ment. Chinese native speakers learned Korean words either
in a VR environment or PW environment. For both groups,
half of the words were learned on Day 1 (remote) and the
other half on Day 2 (recent). Sleep-dependent consolidation
effects were observed in subsequent explicit recognition and
implicit lexical detection tasks, showing better performance
on remote words with a sleep interval than on recent words
without a sleep interval. More importantly, sleep-depend-
ent consolidation effects were influenced by the learning
environment, such that novel words learned via VR were
more consolidated. Overall, the present study has revealed
a facilitation effect of VR environment on sleep-dependent
consolidation and offers enriching new evidence that sup-
ports the CLS model.
Author note The work was supported by the National Natural Science
Foundation of China (62107024), the Humanity and Social Science
Youth foundation of Ministry of Education (22YJC190015), the Natu-
ral Science Foundation of Shandong Province (ZR2021QF012), and
the Institute of Psychology, CAS (GJ202004).
Declarations
Informed consent Informed consent was obtained from all individual
participants included in the study.
Ethics approval This study was approved and consented by the Ethics
Committee of The Department of Psychology of Qingdao University.
Conflict of interest The authors report there are no competing interests
to declare.
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