Emotional memory consolidation and homeostatic regulation during REM sleep: a translational approach

快速眼动睡眠期间的情绪记忆巩固和稳态调节：一种转化方法

• 批准号: 505634753
• 负责人: Professorin Dr. Monika Schönauer
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: Abteilung Neuropsychologie
• 依托单位国家: 德国
• 项目类别: Research Grants
• 资助国家: 德国
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://gepris.dfg.de/gepris/projekt/505634753?language=en
• 关键词: Emotional; memory; consolidation; homeostatic; regulation

Sleep and emotional functions are tightly linked. Sleep benefits both emotional memory consolidation and emotional regulation. These two aspects of emotional processing are key to survival of an individual, ensuring the retrieval of emotional memories and appropriate responses to threatening or rewarding information. The mechanisms that underlie emotional processing in sleep, however, are still unclear. Reactivation of waking experiences during sleep has been found to support memory functions, and may similarly underlie emotional consolidation and emotional regulation. Moreover, rapid-eye-movement (REM) sleep has emerged as a promising candidate state to support emotional functions: it benefits emotional memory consolidation, aids the regulation of emotional responses, and is disrupted in emotional disorders. While the neural dynamics of memory reactivation have been extensively studied in non-REM sleep, little is known about information processing during REM sleep and its role in emotional processing. The overarching goal of this proposal is to determine the role of REM sleep for emotional memory consolidation and emotional regulation. First, we hypothesize that the valence of a previous learning experience is processed during REM sleep, supporting the consolidation of emotional memories. We will test whether we can detect and quantify reactivation of negative or positive experiences during REM sleep in core structures of the emotional memory network using novel machine learning methods (Aim 1). Further, we expect that emotional regulation is linked to homeostatic neural processes occurring during REM sleep, which could co-occur or compete with memory consolidation. We will record and selectively perturb activity in structures involved in emotional processing during REM sleep to test how this influences emotional responses at the behavioral and physiological levels (Aim 2). To do so, we will record EEG and fMRI in humans while they are exposed to positive, neutral and aversive stimuli and during subsequent sleep periods. We will combine in vivo large-scale electrophysiological recordings in the amygdala, hippocampus and prefrontal cortex with optogenetic manipulations during positive and aversive spatial tasks and sleep. Disturbed sleep and dysfunctional memory processes have been linked to the development and maintenance of most psychiatric disorders, including post-traumatic stress disorder. Our project will significantly further our understanding of memory and emotional regulation during sleep. This is crucial to develop a coherent model of emotional functioning, and, in the long-term, tailor new treatments and interventions targeted at sleep.

睡眠和情绪功能紧密相连。睡眠有利于巩固情绪记忆和情绪调节。情绪处理的这两个方面是个体生存的关键，确保情绪记忆的恢复和对威胁或奖励信息的适当反应。然而，睡眠中情绪处理的机制仍然不清楚。在睡眠期间唤醒经验的重新激活已被发现支持记忆功能，并且可能类似地成为情绪巩固和情绪调节的基础。此外，快速眼动（REM）睡眠已成为支持情绪功能的一种有希望的候选状态：它有利于情绪记忆的巩固，有助于情绪反应的调节，并在情绪障碍中被破坏。虽然在非快速眼动睡眠中记忆再激活的神经动力学已经被广泛研究，但对快速眼动睡眠期间的信息处理及其在情绪处理中的作用知之甚少。这个建议的首要目标是确定快速眼动睡眠对情绪记忆巩固和情绪调节的作用。首先，我们假设先前学习经验的效价在REM睡眠期间被处理，支持情感记忆的巩固。我们将测试我们是否可以使用新的机器学习方法（目标1）检测和量化快速眼动睡眠期间情绪记忆网络核心结构中消极或积极经验的重新激活。此外，我们预计情绪调节与快速眼动睡眠期间发生的自我平衡神经过程有关，这可能与记忆巩固同时发生或竞争。我们将记录并有选择地干扰REM睡眠期间参与情绪处理的结构的活动，以测试这如何影响行为和生理水平的情绪反应（目标2）。为了做到这一点，我们将记录人类在暴露于积极、中性和厌恶刺激以及随后的睡眠期间的脑电图和功能磁共振成像。我们将结合联合收割机在体内大规模的电生理记录在杏仁核，海马和前额叶皮层与光遗传学操纵在积极和厌恶的空间任务和睡眠。睡眠紊乱和记忆过程功能障碍与大多数精神疾病的发展和维持有关，包括创伤后应激障碍。我们的项目将大大加深我们对睡眠期间记忆和情绪调节的理解。这对于建立一个连贯的情绪功能模型至关重要，并且从长远来看，针对睡眠量身定制新的治疗和干预措施。