Interactions of sleep oscillations and synaptic scaling processes across NREM-REM sleep states in healthy and pathological aging: A combined experimental-computational approach (B03)

• Subject Area: Experimental and Theoretical Network Neuroscience ; Human Cognitive and Systems Neuroscience
• Term: since 2018
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 327654276

Sleep is known to play an active role in long-term memory consolidation. However, interplay between NREM-REM sleep stages and recalibration of Excitatory/Inhibitory balance (E/I), their combined contribution to memory consolidation, and brain regions underlying these processes, remain poorly understood, and little is known on how pathological aging impacts on these processes. Our project will address these questions through use of sleep stage specific transcranial current stimulation protocols and computational brain modeling to causally investigate NREM-REM interactions, cortical excitability, memory and overnight homeostatic recalibration in healthy older adults, patients with Alzheimer’s Disease (AD), and epilepsy patients with intracranially implanted electrodes. In a theoretical approach, we will infer mechanisms underlying the empirically observed interplay of E/I balance with oscillations, cortical traveling waves and memory consolidation. Overall, we will be able to infer causal relationships between structural and neurobiological changes, E/I balance and altered memory consolidation performance during aging and AD.

• DFG Programme: Collaborative Research Centres
• Subproject of: SFB 1315: Mechanisms and disturbances in memory consolidation: From synapses to systems
• Applicant Institution: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
• Project Heads: Professorin Dr. Agnes Flöel; Professor Dr. Klaus Obermayer, until 6/2026