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Replay, the default mode network and the cascaded memory systems model

Nature Reviews Neuroscience volume 23, pages 628–640 (2022)Cite this article

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Abstract

The spontaneous replay of patterns of activity related to past experiences and memories is a striking feature of brain activity, as is the coherent activation of sets of brain areas — particularly those comprising the default mode network (DMN) — during rest. We propose that these two phenomena are strongly intertwined and that their potential functions overlap. In the ‘cascaded memory systems model’ that we outline here, we hypothesize that the DMN forms the backbone for the propagation of replay, mediating interactions between the hippocampus and the neocortex that enable the consolidation of new memories. The DMN may also independently ignite replay cascades, which support reactivation of older memories or high-level semantic representations. We suggest that transient cortical activations, inducing long-range correlations across the neocortex, are a key mechanism supporting a hierarchy of representations that progresses from simple percepts to semantic representations of causes and, finally, to whole episodes.

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Fig. 1: Memory reactivation as a brain-wide phenomenon.
Fig. 2: Cortical gradients: connectivity and characteristic timescales.
Fig. 3: Modes of cortical activations in the CMS model.

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Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge support from the European Commission Horizon 2020 programme, grants ERC-AdG 833964 ‘REPLAY_DMN’ (to F.P.B.), MSCA ITN 765549 ‘M-GATE’ (to F.P.B.) and MSCA Intraeuropean Fellowship 840704 ‘Brownian Reactivation’ (to F.S. and F.P.B.), EMBO Fellowship ALTF 938-2021 (to K.K.), NIH grant NS121764 (to B.L.M.), NSERC grant RGPIN-2017-03857 (to B.L.M.) and the Radboud Excellence Visiting Professorship (to B.L.M.).

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  1. Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Faculty of Sciences, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands

    Karola Kaefer, Federico Stella & Francesco P. Battaglia

  2. Department of Neuroscience, Canadian Centre for Behavioural Neuroscience, University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada

    Bruce L. McNaughton

  3. Department of Neurobiology and Behaviour, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA

    Bruce L. McNaughton

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Kaefer, K., Stella, F., McNaughton, B.L. et al. Replay, the default mode network and the cascaded memory systems model. Nat Rev Neurosci 23, 628–640 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41583-022-00620-6

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