Light exposure before learning improves memory consolidation at night.
Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Shan LL
PROVIDER: S-EPMC4616152 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Oct
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Publications
Light exposure before learning improves memory consolidation at night.
Shan Li-Li LL Guo Hao H Song Ning-Ning NN Jia Zheng-Ping ZP Hu Xin-Tian XT Huang Jing-Fei JF Ding Yu-Qiang YQ Richter-Levin Gal G Zhou Qi-Xin QX Xu Lin L
Scientific reports 20151023
Light is recently recognized as a modulator able to activate the hippocampus and modulate memory processing, but little is known about the molecular mechanisms. Here, we report that in mice, a short pulse of white light before learning dramatically improves consolidation of contextual fear memory during the night. The light exposure increases hippocampal active p21-activated kinase 1 (PAK1) and CA1 long-term potentiation (LTP). These light effects are abolished in PAK1 knockout and dominant-nega ...[more]
Similar Datasets
Project description:Acute exposure to light within the blue wavelengths has been shown to enhance alertness and vigilance, and lead to improved speed on reaction time tasks, possibly due to activation of the noradrenergic system. It remains unclear, however, whether the effects of blue light extend beyond simple alertness processes to also enhance other aspects of cognition, such as memory performance. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of a thirty minute pulse of blue light versus placebo (amber light) exposure in healthy normally rested individuals in the morning during verbal memory consolidation (i.e., 1.5 hours after memory acquisition) using an abbreviated version of the California Verbal Learning Test (CVLT-II). At delayed recall, individuals who received blue light (n = 12) during the consolidation period showed significantly better long-delay verbal recall than individuals who received amber light exposure (n = 18), while controlling for the effects of general intelligence, depressive symptoms and habitual wake time. These findings extend previous work demonstrating the effect of blue light on brain activation and alertness to further demonstrate its effectiveness at facilitating better memory consolidation and subsequent retention of verbal material. Although preliminary, these findings point to a potential application of blue wavelength light to optimize memory performance in healthy populations. It remains to be determined whether blue light exposure may also enhance performance in clinical populations with memory deficits.
| S-EPMC5602660 | biostudies-literature
Project description:OBJECTIVE:Neurocognitive deficits are common and serious consequences of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Currently, the gold standard treatment is continuous positive air pressure (CPAP) therapy, although the clinical responses to this intervention can be variable. This study examined the effect of one night of CPAP therapy on sleep-dependent memory consolidation, attention, and vigilance as well as subjective experience. METHODS:Fifteen healthy controls and 29 patients with obstructive sleep apnea of whom 14 underwent a full-night CPAP titration completed the psychomotor vigilance test (PVT) and motor sequence learning task (MST) in the evening and the morning after undergoing overnight polysomnography. All participants also completed subjective evaluations of sleep quality. RESULTS:Participants with OSA showed significantly less overnight improvement on the MST compared to controls without OSA, independent of whether or not they had received CPAP treatment, while there was no significant difference between the untreated OSA and CPAP-treated patients. Within the OSA group, only those receiving CPAP exhibited faster reaction times on the PVT in the morning. Compared to untreated OSA patients, they also felt subjectively more rested and reported that they slept better. CONCLUSION:Our results demonstrate an instant augmentation of subjective experience and, based on PVT results, attention and vigilance after one night of CPAP, but a lack of an effect on offline sleep-dependent motor memory consolidation. This dissociation may be explained by different brain structures underlying these processes, some of which might require longer continued adherence to CPAP to generate an effect.
| S-EPMC5238960 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Nonrapid eye movement sleep boosts hippocampus-dependent, long-term memory formation more so than wake. Studies have pointed to several electrophysiological events that likely play a role in this process, including thalamocortical sleep spindles (12-15 Hz). However, interventional studies that directly probe the causal role of spindles in consolidation are scarce. Previous studies have used zolpidem, a GABA-A agonist, to increase sleep spindles during a daytime nap and promote hippocampal-dependent episodic memory. The current study investigated the effect of zolpidem on nighttime sleep and overnight improvement of episodic memories. We used a double-blind, placebo-controlled within-subject design to test the a priori hypothesis that zolpidem would lead to increased memory performance on a word-paired associates task by boosting spindle activity. We also explored the impact of zolpidem across a range of other spectral sleep features, including slow oscillations (0-1 Hz), delta (1-4 Hz), theta (4-8 Hz), sigma (12-15 Hz), as well as spindle-SO coupling. We showed greater memory improvement after a night of sleep with zolpidem, compared to placebo, replicating a prior nap study. Additionally, zolpidem increased sigma power, decreased theta and delta power, and altered the phase angle of spindle-SO coupling, compared to placebo. Spindle density, theta power, and spindle-SO coupling were associated with next-day memory performance. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that sleep, specifically the timing and amount of sleep spindles, plays a causal role in the long-term formation of episodic memories. Furthermore, our results emphasize the role of nonrapid eye movement theta activity in human memory consolidation.
| S-EPMC8064806 | biostudies-literature
Project description:We studied the interaction between glucocorticoid (GC) level and sleep/wake state during memory consolidation. Recent research has accumulated evidence that sleep supports memory consolidation in a unique physiological process, qualitatively distinct from consolidation occurring during wakefulness. This appears particularly true for memories that rely on the hippocampus, a region with abundant expression of GC receptors. Against this backdrop we hypothesized that GC effects on consolidation depend on the brain state, i.e., sleep and wakefulness. Following exploration of two objects in an open field, during 80 min retention periods rats received an intrahippocampal infusion of corticosterone (10 ng) or vehicle while asleep or awake. Then the memory was tested in the hippocampus-dependent object-place recognition paradigm. GCs impaired memory consolidation when administered during sleep but improved consolidation during the wake retention interval. Intrahippocampal infusion of GC or sleep/wake manipulations did not alter novel-object recognition performance that does not require the hippocampus. This work corroborates the notion of distinct consolidation processes occurring in sleep and wakefulnesss, and identifies GCs as a key player controlling distinct hippocampal memory consolidation processes in sleep and wake conditions.
| S-EPMC4233998 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Memory consolidation-the transformation of labile memory traces into stable long-term representations-is facilitated by post-learning sleep. Computational and biophysical models suggest that sleep spindles may play a key mechanistic role for consolidation, igniting structural changes at cortical sites involved in prior learning. Here, we tested the resulting prediction that spindles are most pronounced over learning-related cortical areas and that the extent of this learning-spindle overlap predicts behavioral measures of memory consolidation. Using high-density scalp electroencephalography (EEG) and polysomnography (PSG) in healthy volunteers, we first identified cortical areas engaged during a temporospatial associative memory task (power decreases in the alpha/beta frequency range, 6-20 Hz). Critically, we found that participant-specific topographies (i.e., spatial distributions) of post-learning sleep spindle amplitude correlated with participant-specific learning topographies. Importantly, the extent to which spindles tracked learning patterns further predicted memory consolidation across participants. Our results provide empirical evidence for a role of post-learning sleep spindles in tracking learning networks, thereby facilitating memory consolidation.
| S-EPMC9616732 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Long-term depression (LTD) at parallel fiber-Purkinje cell (PF-PC) synapses is thought to underlie memory formation in cerebellar motor learning. Recent experimental results, however, suggest that multiple plasticity mechanisms in the cerebellar cortex and cerebellar/vestibular nuclei participate in memory formation. To examine this possibility, we formulated a simple model of the cerebellum with a minimal number of components based on its known anatomy and physiology, implementing both LTD and long-term potentiation (LTP) at PF-PC synapses and mossy fiber-vestibular nuclear neuron (MF-VN) synapses. With this model, we conducted a simulation study of the gain adaptation of optokinetic response (OKR) eye movement. Our model reproduced several important aspects of previously reported experimental results in wild-type and cerebellum-related gene-manipulated mice. First, each 1-h training led to the formation of short-term memory of learned OKR gain at PF-PC synapses, which diminished throughout the day. Second, daily repetition of the training gradually formed long-term memory that was maintained for days at MF-VN synapses. We reproduced such memory formation under various learning conditions. Third, long-term memory formation occurred after training but not during training, indicating that the memory consolidation occurred during posttraining periods. Fourth, spaced training outperformed massed training in long-term memory formation. Finally, we reproduced OKR gain changes consistent with the changes in the vestibuloocular reflex (VOR) previously reported in some gene-manipulated mice.
| S-EPMC4371920 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Memory is a dynamic brain function that is continually processed after encoding. Although psychologic concepts of mental schema are now well established, they have rarely been considered in animal studies. We used a behavior paradigm of multiple flavor-place paired associates (PAs) and showed that memory schema facilitates fast acquisition of new PAs in a single trial. The hippocampus is necessary for the encoding of new PAs and for memory retrieval within a certain time window-24 h following new PA consolidation. Whereas the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) plays a critical role for dynamic PA learning and consolidation during training sessions, ACC is essential in schema representation and activation. New myelin generation is essential for learning. Neural activity in the cortical regions impacts myelination by regulating oligodendrocyte (OL) proliferation, differentiation, and myelin formation. Here, we show that newly formed OL progenitor cells and mature OLs are increased following repeated PA learning and that establishment of the memory schema is associated with enhanced myelin strength in the ACC region. Furthermore, to ensure that myelination is necessary for the acquisition of paired-associate learning, ACC lysolecithin-induced demyelination revealed impaired PA learning associated with decrease in ACC θ band power and reduced spike-field coherence and phase-locking in ACC.-Hasan, M., Kanna, M. S., Jun, W., Ramkrishnan, A. S., Iqbal, Z., Lee, Y., Li, Y. Schema-like learning and memory consolidation acting through myelination.
| S-EPMC6902718 | biostudies-literature
Project description:The sleep-to-forget, sleep-to-remember (SFSR) hypothesis states that the neurobiological environment provided by rapid-eye movement (REM)-rich sleep decouples the content of an emotional memory from its attendant emotional arousal. This decoupling allows divergent attenuation and enhancement effects (i.e., erosion of the memory's emotional tone and simultaneous strengthening of its content). However, support for this proposal is mixed. An alternative account suggests there might be convergent attenuation and enhancement (i.e., elevated emotional arousal is positively coupled with enhanced emotional memory). We tested predictions emerging from the SFSR hypothesis using (a) individuals diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD; n = 21), (b) trauma-exposed non-PTSD individuals (n = 19), and (c) healthy controls (n = 20). We included PTSD-diagnosed individuals because they typically experience altered REM sleep, impaired emotional memory, and heightened emotional arousal in response to threatening stimuli. Participants were assessed before and after both an 8-h period of polysomnographically monitored sleep and an 8-h period of waking activity. The assessment included exposure to negatively valenced, positively valenced, and neutral pictures before the 8-h delay, and a recognition task afterward. We measured emotional arousal by recording psychophysiological responses to the pictures, both pre- and post-delay. Results indicated no significant between-group differences in emotional memory accuracy or arousal. However, after a sleep-filled delay, pictures of all categories were recognized with equal accuracy, whereas after a wake-filled delay, negative pictures were recognized preferentially. Furthermore, the findings demonstrated that a sleep-filled delay was associated with attenuated emotional arousal to pictures of all categories, whereas a wake-filled delay was associated with a rise in emotional arousal across the day. Intriguingly, poorer recognition accuracy for valenced (but not neutral) pictures was predicted by an interaction of increased REM fragmentation and increased emotional arousal. In summary, we found some support for the SFSR hypothesis in the way it describes the REM- and arousal-based mechanisms that process emotional material. We also, however, found disconfirming evidence regarding the outcome of that process (i.e., sleep did not favor consolidation of emotional over neutral memory), and we demonstrated a convergence between attenuation of emotional arousal and weakening of emotional content relative to neutral content.
| S-EPMC6688536 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Past aversive experiences shape our ability to deal with future dangers, through the encoding of implicit and explicit memory traces and through the ability to generalize defensive reactions to new stimuli resembling learned threats. Numerous evidence demonstrate that sleep is important for the consolidation of memories related to threatening events. However, there is a lack of studies examining the effects of sleep deprivation on the retrieval of consolidated threat memories, and previous studies on the role of sleep in threat generalization have produced mixed results. To address these issues, here we adopted a differential threat conditioning and a delayed (second half of the night) sleep deprivation during the first or the seventh night after learning. We found no effects of sleep deprivation on either implicit or explicit threat memories, regardless of its occurrence timing. Conversely, implicit but not explicit responses to novel cues similar to a learned threat displayed a widened generalization pattern, but only if sleep deprivation took place during the first night after conditioning and not if it occurred during the seventh night after conditioning. Therefore, we propose that sleeping after exposure to danger may support optimal implicit discrimination processes to evaluate new signals in the future and that even a brief period of sleeplessness may widen threat generalization to new stimuli, which is a hallmark of several threat-related disorders.
| S-EPMC9160568 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Experimental evidence in rodents and humans suggests that long-term memory consolidation can be enhanced by the exploration of a novel environment presented during a vulnerable early phase of consolidation. This memory enhancing effect (behavioral tagging) is caused by dopaminergic and noradrenergic neuromodulation of hippocampal plasticity processes. In translation from animal to human research, we investigated whether behavioral tagging with novelty can be used to tackle memory problems observed in children and adolescents with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). 34 patients with ADHD and 34 typically developing participants (age 9-15 years) explored either a previously familiarized or a novel virtual environment 45 min after they had learned a list of 20 words. Participants took a free recall test both immediately after learning the word list and after 24 h. Patients who explored a familiar environment showed significantly impaired memory consolidation compared to typically developing peers. Exploration of a novel environment led to significantly better memory consolidation in children and adolescents with ADHD. However, we did not observe a beneficial effect of novel environment exploration in typically developing participants. Our data rather suggested that increased exploration of a novel environment as well as higher feelings of virtual immersion compromised memory performance in typically developing children and adolescents, which was not the case for patients with ADHD. We propose that behavioral tagging with novel virtual environments is a promising candidate to overcome ADHD related memory problems. Moreover, the discrepancy between children and adolescents with and without ADHD suggests that behavioral tagging might only be able to improve memory consolidation for weakly encoded information.
| S-EPMC7722922 | biostudies-literature