A Snapshot seminar hosted by the School of Physiology, Pharmacology and Neuroscience.

Abstract: Memories of the daily events in our lives (episodic memories) are acquired by the hippocampus and then integrated with prior knowledge in neocortical networks through a process that is facilitated by oscillatory brain activity while we sleep. In this talk, I will present data showing how cells in the thalamus contribute to the hippocampo-neocortical dialogue that promotes the consolidation of episodic memory during sleep. I will first show results (from extracellular recordings in behaving rats) that suggest that the cycles of the sleep spindle oscillation are key to organizing the cellular interactions between the hippocampus, cortex and thalamus during non-REM sleep. I will present our recent finding of intrinsic mechanisms that may contribute to a sparse activation of thalamic cells during sleep spindles, and I will introduce preliminary data from optogenetics experiments in which rhythmic (but not sparse) spindle activation of the thalamus impaired memory consolidation. If time permits, I will summarize our experiments combining pharmacology and extracellular electrophysiology to demonstrate opposite effects of two insomnia drugs on hippocampal ripple oscillations, which are critical for the reactivation and consolidation of memories. 

Join Zoom Meeting: https://bristol-ac-uk.zoom.us/j/95463631281?pwd=WXJBSTZVWnQ1dkRCRFpITlgwcFBndz09