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Spindle-locked ripples mediate memory reactivation during human NREM sleep

Psychology

Spindle-locked ripples mediate memory reactivation during human NREM sleep

T. Schreiner, M. Petzka, et al.

This groundbreaking research by Tobias Schreiner and colleagues reveals how slow oscillations and spindles contribute to memory reactivation during sleep, confirming the critical role of ripples in enhancing memory consolidation in humans. Delve into the intricacies of how these sleep oscillations coordinate our memory processes!

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~3 min • Beginner • English
Abstract
Memory consolidation relies in part on the reactivation of previous experiences during sleep. The precise interplay of sleep-related oscillations (slow oscillations, spindles and ripples) is thought to coordinate the information flow between relevant brain areas, with ripples mediating memory reactivation. However, in humans empirical evidence for a role of ripples in memory reactivation is lacking. Here, we investigated the relevance of sleep oscillations and specifically ripples for memory reactivation during human sleep using targeted memory reactivation. Intracranial electrophysiology in epilepsy patients and scalp EEG in healthy participants revealed that elevated levels of slow oscillation-related spindle activity coincided with the retrod of experimentally induced memory reactivation. Importantly, spindle-locked ripples recorded intracranially from the medial temporal lobe were found to be correlated with the identification of memory reactivation during non-rapid eye movement sleep. Our findings establish ripples as key-oscillation for sleep-related memory reactivation in humans and emphasize the importance of the coordinated interplay of the cardinal sleep oscillations.
Publisher
Nature Communications
Published On
Jun 19, 2024
Authors
Tobias Schreiner, Moritz Petzka, Benjamin Gänger, Christine Vollmar, Elisabeth Kaufmann, Julian Noachtar, Johannes Ries, Tobias Staudigl
Tags
memory consolidation
sleep
ripples
spindles
slow oscillations
intracranial EEG
targeted memory reactivation
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