Cellular and network dynamics of medial temporal lobe memory structures

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One of the most captivating mysteries of the brain concerns the purpose and role of sleep. That sleep represents a "resting" state of the body is understood, but the idea that it is a resting state of the brain is inconsistent with the continuing and often intense neural activity that occurs during sleep. One idea is that neural activity during sleep may be functioning to actively rewire neural connections and that this synaptic rewiring is relevant for memory processes. Our focus is on memories that require medial temporal lobe structures like the hippocampus (e.g. spatial memory) and the memory-enhancing role of particular patterns of spontaneous activity that appear during slow-wave sleep. It has been shown that slow-wave sleep is particularly important for improving hippocampal-dependent memories and we have identified a novel form of hippocampal slow-wave activity that may be a platform for inducing synaptic changes both within and across medial temporal lobe structures. This proposal outlines a study of this specific form of slow wave activity which has the aim of understanding how it arises, how it coordinates neural activity across large areas of the brain, and how it might influence synaptic changes that are relevant for memory. In addition, we will determine if changes in the pattern, density and coordination of this form of activity are indeed relevant for actual spatial memory enhancement. This research will be important for comprehending the role of sleep in complex memory processes.