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When we sleep we remember

20.10.2012

For the first time, Los Angeles researchers have measured the activity of an area of the brain involved in learning, memory, and Alzheimer's disease during sleep. They found that even in sleep and under anesthesia, this part of the brain is active and behaves as if trying to remember something. This discovery not only supports the theory of the importance of sleep in ordering and consolidating memories, but also provides important information about the correct daily routine.

The research team simultaneously measured the activity of individual neurons from different parts of the brain involved in memory formation. The scientists were able to determine which areas of the mice's brains were activated by others, and how that activation spread.

Early research has already indicated that the cerebral cortex and the hippocampus "talk" to each other during sleep - this "talk" is believed to play an important role in memory creation or memory consolidation. People spend a third of their lives sleeping, and lack of sleep leads to health problems, including memory problems.

Professor Mayank Mehta and his team observed three connected brain regions in mice: the neocortex, the hippocampus, and the entorhinal region (the intermediate region that connects the previous two). Although it was already known from previous research that the dialogue between the old and new brains during sleep is important for memory formation, the contribution of the entorial cortex to this "talk" has not been previously considered. And this contribution, according to Professor Meta, turned out to be key. The entorial cortex, which is active in real life when we try to remember something, behaved in the same way in a dream.

"The big surprise is that this kind of sustained activity happens almost all the time during sleep," says Meta.

Enthorial neurons in mice showed constant activity. Even when she was anesthetized and therefore unable to hear or smell anything, she acted as if she remembered something. It is noteworthy that sometimes this lasted more than a minute - a huge time for brain activity, usually measured in thousandths of a second.

Scientists believe that the active activity of the brain during sleep is associated with attempts to "unload" memory and remove information that was processed during the day, but is not of great importance. As a result, important memories become more accessible and easily retrieved from memory. In practice, this means that chronic lack of sleep can cause much more serious problems than fatigue and inattention.

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