Episodic memory consolidation during sleep across development

• Applicants: Professor Dr. Jan Born, since 3/2020; Marion Inostroza, Ph.D.
• Subject Area: Developmental and Educational Psychology ; Developmental Neurobiology ; Human Cognitive and Systems Neuroscience
• Term: from 2018 to 2023
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 401829341

In the adult brain, sleep is known to support a consolidation process in the episodic memory system. This active type of consolidation relies on the fine-tuned orchestration of sleep-oscillatory activity during slow wave sleep (SWS), specifically on the temporal nesting of neocortical slow oscillations, thalamic spindles, and hippocampal sharp wave-ripples accompanying neural reactivations of hippocampal representations. During development, the brain shows a tremendous potential for memory formation although essential structures subserving episodic memory are immature. Against this backdrop, this project aims, in a combined human/rodent approach, to characterize the development of episodic memory consolidation during sleep. Specifically, we aim to describe in both species (i) at which developmental age episodic memory and its components (what, where, when) emerge and start to benefit from sleep. (ii) We aim to link the emergence of specific episodic memory components during development to the emergence of specific oscillatory signatures of memory processing during sleep (slow oscillations, spindles, sharp wave-ripples). (iii) We plan to demonstrate that the synchrony between the development of episodic memory and its components and the EEG signatures of memory consolidation during sleep is not merely a matter of maturation but can be accelerated by specific prior learning experience. To test these hypotheses we designed a set of behavioral studies in human infants and in rodent pups based on exploration paradigms that are directly comparable between species. To investigate the sleep parameters of interest we will use surface EEG recordings in infants and surface and hippocampal EEG recordings in rodents. Ultimately, the experiments will provide evidence for the crucial role of sleep features in the capability to form consolidated episodic memory over the course of development.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• Ehemalige Antragstellerin: Katharina Zinke, Ph.D., until 3/2020