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Labile or stable: opposing consequences for memory when reactivated during waking and sleep

Nature Neuroscience volume 14, pages 381–386 (2011)Cite this article

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Abstract

Memory consolidation is a dynamic process. Reconsolidation theory assumes that reactivation during wakefulness transiently destabilizes memories, requiring them to reconsolidate in order to persist. Memory reactivation also occurs during slow-wave sleep (SWS) and is assumed to underlie the consolidating effect of sleep. Here, we tested whether the same principle of transient destabilization applies to memory reactivation during SWS. We reactivated memories in humans by presenting associated odor cues either during SWS or wakefulness. Reactivation was followed by an interference task to probe memory stability. As we expected, reactivation during waking destabilized memories. In contrast, reactivation during SWS immediately stabilized memories, thereby directly increasing their resistance to interference. Functional magnetic resonance imaging revealed that reactivation during SWS mainly activated hippocampal and posterior cortical regions, whereas reactivation during wakefulness primarily activated prefrontal cortical areas. Our results show that reactivation of memory serves distinct functions depending on the brain state of wakefulness or sleep.

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Figure 1: Experimental procedures and memory performance after odor reactivation.
Figure 2: Brain activity associated with odor-induced memory reactivation during wakefulness and sleep.

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Acknowledgements

We thank I. Wilhelm for helpful discussions and J. Martens, F. Hobrack, M. Palm and K. Müller for assistance with data collection. This work was supported by grants from the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (SFB 654 and SFB TR 58).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neuroendocrinology, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany

    Susanne Diekelmann & Jan Born

  2. Department of Medical Psychology and Neurobiology, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany

    Susanne Diekelmann, Jan Born & Björn Rasch

  3. Department of Systems Neuroscience, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany

    Christian Büchel

  4. Division of Cognitive Neuroscience, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland

    Björn Rasch

Authors
  1. Susanne Diekelmann
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  2. Christian Büchel
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  4. Björn Rasch
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Contributions

S.D., J.B. and B.R. designed the experiments and wrote the paper. S.D. and B.R. carried out the experiments and analyzed the data. C.B. provided analytic tools.

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Jan Born or Björn Rasch.

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The authors declare no competing financial interests.

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Supplementary Tables 1–5 and Supplementary Results (PDF 43 kb)

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Diekelmann, S., Büchel, C., Born, J. et al. Labile or stable: opposing consequences for memory when reactivated during waking and sleep. Nat Neurosci 14, 381–386 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1038/nn.2744

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