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Consolidation and reconsolidation share behavioural and neurochemical mechanisms

Nature Human Behaviour volume 2, pages 507–513 (2018)Cite this article

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Abstract

After encoding, memory traces are fragile and easily disrupted by new learning until they are stabilized through a process termed consolidation1,2. However, several studies have suggested that consolidation does not make memory traces permanently stable. The results of these studies support the theory that the retrieval of previously consolidated memory, termed reactivation, renders the memory traces labile again and subject to disruption by new learning unless they go through a further consolidation process, termed reconsolidation3,4,5,6,7,8. However, it remains controversial whether reactivation and reconsolidation occur at a human behavioural level9,10,11 and whether consolidation and reconsolidation have common mechanisms12,13. Here, we found that reconsolidation does occur after reactivation in visual perceptual learning14,15,16,17,18,19,20,21,22,23,24,25, a type of skill learning, in humans. Moreover, changes in behavioural performance, as well as in concentrations in the excitatory neurotransmitter glutamate and in the inhibitory neurotransmitter GABA (γ-aminobutyric acid), as measured by magnetic resonance spectroscopy, in early visual areas exhibit similar time courses during consolidation and reconsolidation. These results indicate that reconsolidation after reactivation and consolidation in humans share common behavioural and neurochemical mechanisms.

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Fig. 1: Procedures and results of study 1.
Fig. 2: Design and results of study 2.
Fig. 3: Design and results of study 3.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the NIH (R01EY019466), the NSF (BCS 1539717) and the JSPS KAKENHI grant number 17H04789. The funding agencies had no role in the conceptualization, design, data collection, analysis, decision to publish or preparation of the manuscript.

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Author notes

  1. Ji Won Bang

    Present address: Department of Ophthalmology, School of Medicine, New York University, New York, NY, USA

  2. Kazuhisa Shibata

    Present address: Department of Cognitive and Psychological Sciences, Graduate School of Informatics, Nagoya University, Furo-cho, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya City, Japan

  3. These authors contributed equally: Ji Won Bang, Kazuhisa Shibata, Sebastian M. Frank.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Cognitive, Linguistic, and Psychological Sciences, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA

    Ji Won Bang, Kazuhisa Shibata, Sebastian M. Frank, Takeo Watanabe & Yuka Sasaki

  2. Institute for Experimental Psychology, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany

    Sebastian M. Frank & Mark W. Greenlee

  3. Department of Neuroscience, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA

    Edward G. Walsh, Takeo Watanabe & Yuka Sasaki

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Contributions

This work was conceived by J.W.B., S.M.F., T.W. and Y.S. J.W.B., K.S., S.M.F. and E.G.W. collected and analysed the data. J.W.B., K.S., S.M.F., E.G.W., M.W.G., T.W. and Y.S. wrote the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Takeo Watanabe.

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Bang, J.W., Shibata, K., Frank, S.M. et al. Consolidation and reconsolidation share behavioural and neurochemical mechanisms. Nat Hum Behav 2, 507–513 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-018-0366-8

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