Disruption of ripple‐associated hippocampal activity during rest impairs spatial learning in the rat

TLDR

The hippocampus is essential for forming spatial and event memories, and reactivation during sharp‑wave ripple events in slow‑wave sleep is thought to consolidate these memories, yet a causal link has not been proven. Rats performed two identical spatial navigation tasks daily, each followed by a 1‑hour rest, during which stimulation of hippocampal afferents selectively disrupted ripple‑associated neuronal activity without altering sleep‑wake patterns. Disrupting ripple‑associated neuronal activity during rest impaired spatial learning, as rats completed the control task faster than the task preceded by stimulation. © 2009 Wiley‑Liss, Inc.

Abstract

Abstract The hippocampus plays a key role in the acquisition of new memories for places and events. Evidence suggests that the consolidation of these memories is enhanced during sleep. At the neuronal level, reactivation of awake experience in the hippocampus during sharp‐wave ripple events, characteristic of slow‐wave sleep, has been proposed as a neural mechanism for sleep‐dependent memory consolidation. However, a causal relation between sleep reactivation and memory consolidation has not been established. Here we show that disrupting neuronal activity during ripple events impairs spatial learning. We trained rats daily in two identical spatial navigation tasks followed each by a 1‐hour rest period. After one of the tasks, stimulation of hippocampal afferents selectively disrupted neuronal activity associated with ripple events without changing the sleep‐wake structure. Rats learned the control task significantly faster than the task followed by rest stimulation, indicating that interfering with hippocampal processing during sleep led to decreased learning. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.