Realtime manipulation of hippocampal spike sequences in rats

2022 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 20H03545
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B)
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Section: 一般
• Review Section: Basic Section 51010:Basic brain sciences-related
• Research Institution: Tohoku University
• Principal Investigator: Sasaki Takuya 東北大学, 薬学研究科, 教授 (70741031)
• Project Period (FY): 2020-04-01 – 2023-03-31
• Keywords: 海馬 / 記憶 / 学習 / 神経同期活動 / 場所細胞

Outline of Final Research Achievements

This study investigated how awake synchronous events during a new experience contribute to the formation of reactivation patterns in the hippocampal neuronal circuits. The researchers found that the disruption of awake sharp-wave ripples prevented the experience-induced changes in neuronal contributions during post-experience synchronous events. Additionally, the hippocampal place cells that participated more in reward-related synchronous events exhibited stronger reactivation during post-experience synchronous events. The combined effects of awake synchronous neuronal patterns and place-selective firing patterns determined the ensembles of cells that showed significant increases or decreases in their correlated spikes. Overall, awake synchronous events play a crucial role in identifying the hippocampal neuronal ensembles that will be involved in synchronous reactivation during subsequent offline states, thus promoting memory consolidation.

Free Research Field

神経生理学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

脳においては、新しい経験を学習することで、神経細胞集団の協調的な活動パターンが多様な形で再構成され、個々の細胞自体の興奮性や細胞間の機能的結合に変化が生じる。本研究では、特に記憶に重要であると考えられる海馬において、環境を経験した後の休息や睡眠時などに、神経細胞集団の同期的な再活性化のパターンが重要な役割を担うことを見出した。社会生活に身近な記憶や学習の新たな神経メカニズムを解明したという点で、重要な意義をもつ研究成果であり、また睡眠や休憩時の脳の活動の重要性にもあらためて焦点を当てる契機となる。