Researchers from University of Tsukuba and the University of Tokyo have revealed that adult-born neurons (ABNs) in the hippocampus, which is a brain region associated with memory, are responsible for memory consolidation during REM sleep.Dreams literally build the brain.
To do this, the researchers exposed mice to a context-specific fear memory task. Then, they recorded activity in specific ABNs across the learning, consolidation, and retrieval stages of memory.
"We found that young ABNs that were most active during REM sleep after the memory task were most likely to have been active during learning," explains Professor Masashi Yanagisawa, the other senior author of the study. "Further, when we then examined the effects of optogenetic silencing on young ABN activity during sleep, we found that the consolidation of contextual fear memories was impaired."
Their data represent causal evidence that activity in young ABNs during REM sleep is necessary for memory consolidation.
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