Gregg W. Roman, assistant professor in the Department of Biology and Biochemistry at the University of Houston, has found that melatonin directly inhibits memory formation at night, based on experiments with zebrafish.

The experiments also suggest that the use of melatonin receptor antagonists may allow for retaining the beneficial effects of melatonin’s antioxidant properties without the negative cognitive effects. Such benefits include fighting free radical damage to slow some forms of neurodegeneration, such as in Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases, and stopping DNA damage, which has potential to act as a preventative against cancer.