Memory Consolidation during Waking Rest

 描述(由申请人提供)：睡眠是一段重要的时间，在这段时间里，新学到的信息会被巩固成更持久的形式。然而，新出现的证据表明，在一天中穿插着短暂的安静清醒休息期间，记忆也可能得到巩固。发生这种情况的条件尚不清楚，清醒休息期间支持巩固的神经生理学也没有被描述。这项研究的长期目标是了解清醒状态下“休息”状态的认知功能。目前该项目的目标是确定清醒休息的特征，这些特征有助于提高记忆的效果，并分离出相关的神经生理机制。最初的研究将系统地改变学习后休息期的行为特征，以确定其对记忆有益的特征。初步数据表明，只有当对感觉输入的关注最小化，并且没有相互竞争的认知需求时，清醒的休息才能支持巩固。其次，对学习后的休息和睡眠进行直接比较，将评估清醒的休息能在多大程度上产生与睡眠相同的记忆益处。如果醒着的休息有助于巩固24小时循环中的记忆，那么在某些情况下，醒着的休息对记忆的益处可能与睡眠相当。最后，使用高密度脑电结合非侵入性脑刺激技术，本研究将评估静息状态脑振荡对记忆巩固的因果贡献。最初的实验将建立清醒休息时巩固的脑电关联。根据初步数据，我们预计高频活动减少和慢振荡活动增加(1赫兹)的电生理特征将预测更好的记忆结果。这些神经振荡对巩固过程的因果贡献将通过非侵入性脑刺激方法来测试，以操纵静息状态的大脑活动。目前的建议在描述和操纵睡眠本身之外的静息状态记忆巩固的多层次方法方面是独特的。通过操纵行为和神经生理学，我们将分离出优化记忆处理的神经行为状态的一般特征。这项工作将使我们能够更广泛地理解有意识状态如何有助于记忆巩固，定义在清醒或睡眠中发生记忆巩固的充分必要条件。

 DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Sleep is an important time during which newly learned information is consolidated into a more permanent form. However, emerging evidence suggests that memory may also be consolidated during short periods of quiet waking rest interspersed throughout the day. The conditions under which this occurs remain unknown, and the neurophysiology supporting consolidation during periods of waking rest has not been described. The long- term goal of this research is to understand the cognitive function of "rest" states during wakefulness. The objective of the current project is to define the features of waking rest that contribute to its memory-enhancing effect, and to isolate the neurophysiological mechanisms responsible. Initial studies will systematically vary the behavioral features of a post-learning rest period in order to identify the characteristics accounting for its beneficial efect on memory. Preliminary data suggest that wakeful rest supports consolidation only when attention to sensory input is minimized, and in the absence of competing cognitive demands. Second, a direct comparison of rest and sleep periods following learning will assess the extent to which waking rest can produce the same memory benefits as sleep. If waking rest contributes to the consolidation of memories across the 24- hour cycle, under some conditions the memory benefit of waking rest may equal that of sleep. Finally, using high-density EEG combined with noninvasive brain stimulation techniques, this research will assess the causal contribution of resting state brain oscillations to memory consolidation. Initial experiments will establish the EEG correlates of consolidation during waking rest. Based on preliminary data, we expect that an electrophysiological signature of decreased high-frequency activity and increased slow oscillatory activity (<1Hz) will predict a superior memory outcome. The causal contribution of these neural oscillations to the consolidation process will be tested using noninvasive brain stimulation methods to manipulate resting state brain activity. The current proposal is unique in its multilevel approach to describing and manipulating resting state memory consolidation outside of sleep per se. By manipulating both behavior and neurophysiology, we will isolate the general characteristics of a neurobehavioral state that optimize memory processing. This work will enable a broader understanding of how conscious states contribute to memory consolidation, defining the necessary and sufficient conditions for consolidation to occur in wakefulness or sleep.