Isolated theta waves originating from the midline thalamus trigger memory reactivation during NREM sleep in mice

During non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep, neural ensembles in the entorhinal-hippocampal circuit responsible for encoding recent memories undergo reactivation to facilitate the process of memory consolidation. This reactivation is widely acknowledged as pivotal for the formation of stable memory and its impairment is closely associated with memory dysfunction. To date, the neural mechanisms driving the reactivation of neural ensembles during NREM sleep remain poorly understood. Here, we show that the neural ensembles in the medial entorhinal cortex (MEC) that encode spatial experiences exhibit reactivation during NREM sleep. Notably, this reactivation consistently coincides with isolated theta waves. In addition, we found that the nucleus reuniens (RE) in the midline thalamus exhibits typical theta waves during NREM sleep, which are highly synchronized with those occurring in the MEC in male mice. Closed-loop optogenetic inhibition of the RE-MEC pathway specifically suppressed these isolated theta waves, resulting in impaired reactivation and compromised memory consolidation following a spatial memory task in male mice. The findings suggest that theta waves originating from the ventral midline thalamus play a role in initiating memory reactivation and consolidation during sleep.

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Publication Details

Journal
Nature Communications
Published
2024-10-25
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-53522-9
Citations
6
Primary Topic
Neuroscience and Neuropharmacology Research
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
1.61

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article

Isolated theta waves originating from the midline thalamus trigger memory reactivation during NREM sleep in mice

Faguo Yue, Chenggang Jiang, Shuancheng Ren, Xiaolong Zhang et al.
6 citations
Nature Communications
Neuroscience and Neuropharmacology Research
1.61
article

Isolated theta waves originating from the midline thalamus trigger memory reactivation during NREM sleep in mice

Faguo Yue, Chenggang Jiang, Shuancheng Ren, Xiaolong Zhang, Minmin Lu, Jianxia Xia, Yixiang Liao, Zhian Hu, Fenlan Luo, Xiang Liao, Na Wang, Chao He, Zehui Zhang, Ling Qian, Xin Li, Qin Xiao, Jun Hu, Jiangheng Guan, Ruyi Wen
article en
6 citations

Abstract

During non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep, neural ensembles in the entorhinal-hippocampal circuit responsible for encoding recent memories undergo reactivation to facilitate the process of memory consolidation. This reactivation is widely acknowledged as pivotal for the formation of stable memory and its impairment is closely associated with memory dysfunction. To date, the neural mechanisms driving the reactivation of neural ensembles during NREM sleep remain poorly understood. Here, we show that the neural ensembles in the medial entorhinal cortex (MEC) that encode spatial experiences exhibit reactivation during NREM sleep. Notably, this reactivation consistently coincides with isolated theta waves. In addition, we found that the nucleus reuniens (RE) in the midline thalamus exhibits typical theta waves during NREM sleep, which are highly synchronized with those occurring in the MEC in male mice. Closed-loop optogenetic inhibition of the RE-MEC pathway specifically suppressed these isolated theta waves, resulting in impaired reactivation and compromised memory consolidation following a spatial memory task in male mice. The findings suggest that theta waves originating from the ventral midline thalamus play a role in initiating memory reactivation and consolidation during sleep.

Nature CommunicationsVol. 15(1)
Allen Institute for Brain Science (US), Army Medical University (CN), Chongqing University (CN), Jilin University (CN), Chongqing Maternal and Child Health Hospital (CN), Southwest Hospital (CN), Jilin Medical University (CN), Children's Hospital of Chongqing Medical University (CN), Chongqing Medical University (CN)
National Natural Science Foundation of China, Natural Science Foundation of Chongqing
Openalex Percentile: Top 17%
Neuroscience and Neuropharmacology Research
1.61
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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