ScienceDaily
Your source for the latest research news
Follow Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Subscribe RSS Feeds Newsletters
New:
  • Carbon-Hungry Microorganisms
  • Anal Cancer in Midwest, Southeast: Dramatic Rise
  • Ancient Underwater Food Webs Fluctuated
  • Nano-Engineered Transforming Pinwheels
  • The Entanglement Advantage
  • Origins of Jaws
  • Coffee, Tea and Protein Intake Protect Hips
  • The Cosmic Dawn: First Galaxies
  • Green Means GO! Ultra-Violet Means STOP!
  • How Ancient Superpredator Got So Big
advertisement
Follow all of ScienceDaily's latest research news and top science headlines!
Science News
from research organizations

1

2

Learning During Sleep? Researchers Investigate Communication Between Memory Areas

Date:
December 6, 2006
Source:
Max-Planck-Gesellschaft
Summary:
Scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Medical Research in Heidelberg have been investigating how memories might be consolidated. Their new study offers the hitherto strongest proof that new information is transferred between the hippocampus, the short term memory area, and the cerebral cortex during sleep.
Share:
FULL STORY

If I can’t remember this morning where I put my car keys last night, it’s due to my memory failing me again. Scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Medical Research in Heidelberg have been investigating how memories might be consolidated. Their new study offers the hitherto strongest proof that new information is transferred between the hippocampus, the short term memory area, and the cerebral cortex during sleep.

advertisement

According to their findings and contrary to previous assumptions, the cerebral cortex actively controls this transfer. The researchers developed a new technique for their investigations which promises previously impossible insight into the largely under-researched field of information processing in the brain (Nature Neuroscience, November 2006).

The question of how the brain stores or discards memories still remains largely unexplained. Many brain researchers regard the consolidation theory as the best approach so far. This states that fresh impressions are first stored as short-term memories in the hippocampus. They are then said to move within hours or a few days - usually during deep sleep - into the cerebral cortex where they enter long-term memory. Investigations by Thomas Hahn, Mayank Mehta and the Nobel Prize winner Bert Sakmann from the Max Planck Institute for Medical Research in Heidelberg have now shed new light on the mechanisms that create memory. According to their findings, the areas of the brain work together, but possibly in a different way from that previously assumed. "This is a technically sophisticated study which could have considerable influence on our understanding of how nerve cells interact during sleep consolidation," confirmed Edvard Moser, Director of the Centre for the Biology of Memory in Trondheim, Norway.

It has been difficult up to now to use experiments to examine the brain processes that create memory. The scientists in Heidelberg developed an innovative experimental approach especially for this purpose. They succeeded in measuring the membrane potential of individual interneurones (neurones that suppress the activity of the hippocampus) in anaethetised mice. At the same time, they recorded the field potential of thousands of nerve cells in the cerebral cortex. This allowed them to link the behaviour of the individual nerve cells with that of the cerebral cortex. The researchers discovered that the interneurones they examined are active at almost the same time as the field potential of the cerebral cortex. There was just a slight delay, like an echo.

This was a surprising finding, because the interneurones suppress those neurones in the hippocampus which are supposed to write information to the cerebral cortex precisely during phases of high activity. According to Mayank Mehta the result can be interpreted in very different ways. "Either the mechanism contributes to memory consolidation, or the information transfer from one part of the brain to another during sleep does not proceed as we have previously assumed." The brain researchers now want to find out which of the possible explanations applies.

In any case, the scientists can use their new experimental method to investigate many other open questions in brain research. Thomas Hahn emphasised: "Putting the behaviour of a single neuron in the context of wider-scale patterns of activity promises to yield completely new insights into the principles according to which our brain is organised."

make a difference: sponsored opportunity

Story Source:

Materials provided by Max-Planck-Gesellschaft. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


Cite This Page:

  • MLA
  • APA
  • Chicago
Max-Planck-Gesellschaft. "Learning During Sleep? Researchers Investigate Communication Between Memory Areas." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 6 December 2006. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/12/061205215238.htm>.
Max-Planck-Gesellschaft. (2006, December 6). Learning During Sleep? Researchers Investigate Communication Between Memory Areas. ScienceDaily. Retrieved November 30, 2022 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/12/061205215238.htm
Max-Planck-Gesellschaft. "Learning During Sleep? Researchers Investigate Communication Between Memory Areas." ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/12/061205215238.htm (accessed November 30, 2022).

  • RELATED TOPICS
    • Mind & Brain
      • Neuroscience
      • Memory
      • Intelligence
      • Brain Injury
      • Sleep Disorders
      • Dementia
      • Learning Disorders
      • Psychology
advertisement

  • RELATED TERMS
    • Memory bias
    • Thalamus
    • Memory-prediction framework
    • Mnemonic
    • Neocortex (brain)
    • Limbic system
    • Sleep disorder
    • Memory
advertisement

  Print   Email   Share

advertisement

1

2

3

4

5
Most Popular
this week

HEALTH & MEDICINE
Put the Kettle On! How Black Tea (and Other Favorites) May Help Your Health Later in Life
Differences Between Brains of Primates Are Small but Significant, Study Shows
Human Evolution Wasn't Just the Sheet Music, but How It Was Played
MIND & BRAIN
525-Million-Year-Old Fossil Defies Textbook Explanation for Brain Evolution
Artificial Neural Networks Learn Better When They Spend Time Not Learning at All
Drinking During Pregnancy Changes Baby's Brain Structure
LIVING & WELL
Why Some People Are Mosquito Magnets
Wireless Earphones as Inexpensive Hearing Aids
Researchers Find Genetic Links Between Traits Are Often Overstated
advertisement

Strange & Offbeat
 

HEALTH & MEDICINE
Green Means GO! Ultra-Violet Means STOP!
AI-Generated X-Ray Images Fooled Medical Experts and Improved Osteoarthritis Classification
Synthetic Biology Meets Medicine: 'Programmable Molecular Scissors' Could Help Fight COVID-19 Infection
MIND & BRAIN
525-Million-Year-Old Fossil Defies Textbook Explanation for Brain Evolution
Witchcraft Beliefs Are Widespread, Highly Variable Around the World, Study Finds
Artificial Neural Networks Learn Better When They Spend Time Not Learning at All
LIVING & WELL
AI Helps Researchers Design Microneedle Patches That Restore Hair in Balding Mice
Cats Distinguish Between Speech Directed at Them and Humans, Study Finds
Unlocking the Power of Our Emotional Memory
Explore More
from ScienceDaily

RELATED STORIES

Memory Helps Us Evaluate Situations on the Fly, Not Just Recall the Past
June 18, 2021 — Scientists have long known the brain's hippocampus is crucial for long-term memory. Now a new study has found the hippocampus also plays a role in short-term memory and helps guide decision-making. ...
Visual Short-Term Memory Is More Complex Than Previously Assumed
Dec. 8, 2020 — Contrary to previous assumptions, visual short-term memory is not merely based on one kind of information about an object, such as only its colour or only its name. Rather, several types of ...
Memory Consolidation During REM Sleep
June 5, 2020 — Researchers have found that activity in adult-born neurons (ABNs) in the hippocampus, which is a brain region associated with memory, are responsible for memory consolidation during REM sleep. ...
How the Brain Reacts to Loss of Vision
Dec. 19, 2018 — If mice lose their vision immediately after birth due to a genetic defect, this has a considerable impact, both on the organization of the cerebral cortex and on memory. Researchers demonstrated ...
advertisement


SD
  • SD
    • Home Page
    • Top Science News
    • Latest News
  • Home
    • Home Page
    • Top Science News
    • Latest News
  • Health
    • View all the latest top news in the health sciences,
      or browse the topics below:
      Health & Medicine
      • Allergy
      • Alternative Medicine
      • Birth Control
      • Cancer
      • Diabetes
      • Diseases
      • Heart Disease
      • HIV and AIDS
      • Obesity
      • Stem Cells
      • ... more topics
      Mind & Brain
      • ADD and ADHD
      • Addiction
      • Alzheimer's
      • Autism
      • Depression
      • Headaches
      • Intelligence
      • Psychology
      • Relationships
      • Schizophrenia
      • ... more topics
      Living Well
      • Parenting
      • Pregnancy
      • Sexual Health
      • Skin Care
      • Men's Health
      • Women's Health
      • Nutrition
      • Diet and Weight Loss
      • Fitness
      • Healthy Aging
      • ... more topics
  • Tech
    • View all the latest top news in the physical sciences & technology,
      or browse the topics below:
      Matter & Energy
      • Aviation
      • Chemistry
      • Electronics
      • Fossil Fuels
      • Nanotechnology
      • Physics
      • Quantum Physics
      • Solar Energy
      • Technology
      • Wind Energy
      • ... more topics
      Space & Time
      • Astronomy
      • Black Holes
      • Dark Matter
      • Extrasolar Planets
      • Mars
      • Moon
      • Solar System
      • Space Telescopes
      • Stars
      • Sun
      • ... more topics
      Computers & Math
      • Artificial Intelligence
      • Communications
      • Computer Science
      • Hacking
      • Mathematics
      • Quantum Computers
      • Robotics
      • Software
      • Video Games
      • Virtual Reality
      • ... more topics
  • Enviro
    • View all the latest top news in the environmental sciences,
      or browse the topics below:
      Plants & Animals
      • Agriculture and Food
      • Animals
      • Biology
      • Biotechnology
      • Endangered Animals
      • Extinction
      • Genetically Modified
      • Microbes and More
      • New Species
      • Zoology
      • ... more topics
      Earth & Climate
      • Climate
      • Earthquakes
      • Environment
      • Geography
      • Geology
      • Global Warming
      • Hurricanes
      • Ozone Holes
      • Pollution
      • Weather
      • ... more topics
      Fossils & Ruins
      • Ancient Civilizations
      • Anthropology
      • Archaeology
      • Dinosaurs
      • Early Humans
      • Early Mammals
      • Evolution
      • Lost Treasures
      • Origin of Life
      • Paleontology
      • ... more topics
  • Society
    • View all the latest top news in the social sciences & education,
      or browse the topics below:
      Science & Society
      • Arts & Culture
      • Consumerism
      • Economics
      • Political Science
      • Privacy Issues
      • Public Health
      • Racial Disparity
      • Religion
      • Sports
      • World Development
      • ... more topics
      Business & Industry
      • Biotechnology & Bioengineering
      • Computers & Internet
      • Energy & Resources
      • Engineering
      • Medical Technology
      • Pharmaceuticals
      • Transportation
      • ... more topics
      Education & Learning
      • Animal Learning & Intelligence
      • Creativity
      • Educational Psychology
      • Educational Technology
      • Infant & Preschool Learning
      • Learning Disorders
      • STEM Education
      • ... more topics
  • Quirky
    • Top News
    • Human Quirks
    • Odd Creatures
    • Bizarre Things
    • Weird World
Free Subscriptions

Get the latest science news with ScienceDaily's free email newsletters, updated daily and weekly. Or view hourly updated newsfeeds in your RSS reader:

  • Email Newsletters
  • RSS Feeds
Follow Us

Keep up to date with the latest news from ScienceDaily via social networks:

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
Have Feedback?

Tell us what you think of ScienceDaily -- we welcome both positive and negative comments. Have any problems using the site? Questions?

  • Leave Feedback
  • Contact Us
About This Site  |  Staff  |  Reviews  |  Contribute  |  Advertise  |  Privacy Policy  |  Editorial Policy  |  Terms of Use
Copyright 1995-2022 ScienceDaily or by other parties, where indicated. All rights controlled by their respective owners.
Content on this website is for information only. It is not intended to provide medical or other professional advice.
Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily, its staff, its contributors, or its partners.
Financial support for ScienceDaily comes from advertisements and referral programs, where indicated.
— CCPA: Do Not Sell My Information — GDPR: Privacy Settings —