Transient reactivation of small ensembles of adult-born neurons during REM sleep supports memory consolidation in mice
Abstract While memory consolidation is widely believed to require memory reactivation synchronized with theta oscillations during REM sleep, direct causal evidence linking specific neuronal ensembles to this process has been lacking. Strong theta oscillations arise in the hippocampal dentate gyrus,...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Nature Portfolio
2025-08-01
|
| Series: | Nature Communications |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-62554-8 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1849343199719456768 |
|---|---|
| author | Sakthivel Srinivasan Iyo Koyanagi Pablo Vergara Yuteng Wang Akinobu Ohba Toshie Naoi Kaspar E. Vogt Yoan Chérasse Noriki Kutsumura Takeshi Sakurai Taro Tezuka Masanori Sakaguchi |
| author_facet | Sakthivel Srinivasan Iyo Koyanagi Pablo Vergara Yuteng Wang Akinobu Ohba Toshie Naoi Kaspar E. Vogt Yoan Chérasse Noriki Kutsumura Takeshi Sakurai Taro Tezuka Masanori Sakaguchi |
| author_sort | Sakthivel Srinivasan |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract While memory consolidation is widely believed to require memory reactivation synchronized with theta oscillations during REM sleep, direct causal evidence linking specific neuronal ensembles to this process has been lacking. Strong theta oscillations arise in the hippocampal dentate gyrus, where a small population of principal neurons is continuously generated throughout adulthood. Although these adult-born neurons (ABNs) are known to modulate hippocampal circuits for memory, the causality between their specific information content and memory-related behavior was unknown. Here, we show that REM sleep reactivation of memory ensembles comprising as few as ~3 ABNs is necessary for fear memory consolidation. Crucially, we found that the synchronization of ABN activity with a specific theta phase is essential for associative memory consolidation. Our findings thus provide causal evidence that consolidation critically depends on both the reactivation of minimal neuronal populations and precise neuronal coordination within theta-defined temporal windows. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-bcdce99f65ed4d10a10b2d99a14a960e |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2041-1723 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-08-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Nature Communications |
| spelling | doaj-art-bcdce99f65ed4d10a10b2d99a14a960e2025-08-20T03:43:03ZengNature PortfolioNature Communications2041-17232025-08-0116111110.1038/s41467-025-62554-8Transient reactivation of small ensembles of adult-born neurons during REM sleep supports memory consolidation in miceSakthivel Srinivasan0Iyo Koyanagi1Pablo Vergara2Yuteng Wang3Akinobu Ohba4Toshie Naoi5Kaspar E. Vogt6Yoan Chérasse7Noriki Kutsumura8Takeshi Sakurai9Taro Tezuka10Masanori Sakaguchi11International Institute for Integrative Sleep Medicine (WPI-IIIS), University of TsukubaInternational Institute for Integrative Sleep Medicine (WPI-IIIS), University of TsukubaInternational Institute for Integrative Sleep Medicine (WPI-IIIS), University of TsukubaInternational Institute for Integrative Sleep Medicine (WPI-IIIS), University of TsukubaInternational Institute for Integrative Sleep Medicine (WPI-IIIS), University of TsukubaInternational Institute for Integrative Sleep Medicine (WPI-IIIS), University of TsukubaInternational Institute for Integrative Sleep Medicine (WPI-IIIS), University of TsukubaInternational Institute for Integrative Sleep Medicine (WPI-IIIS), University of TsukubaInternational Institute for Integrative Sleep Medicine (WPI-IIIS), University of TsukubaInternational Institute for Integrative Sleep Medicine (WPI-IIIS), University of TsukubaInstitute of Systems and Information Engineering, University of TsukubaInternational Institute for Integrative Sleep Medicine (WPI-IIIS), University of TsukubaAbstract While memory consolidation is widely believed to require memory reactivation synchronized with theta oscillations during REM sleep, direct causal evidence linking specific neuronal ensembles to this process has been lacking. Strong theta oscillations arise in the hippocampal dentate gyrus, where a small population of principal neurons is continuously generated throughout adulthood. Although these adult-born neurons (ABNs) are known to modulate hippocampal circuits for memory, the causality between their specific information content and memory-related behavior was unknown. Here, we show that REM sleep reactivation of memory ensembles comprising as few as ~3 ABNs is necessary for fear memory consolidation. Crucially, we found that the synchronization of ABN activity with a specific theta phase is essential for associative memory consolidation. Our findings thus provide causal evidence that consolidation critically depends on both the reactivation of minimal neuronal populations and precise neuronal coordination within theta-defined temporal windows.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-62554-8 |
| spellingShingle | Sakthivel Srinivasan Iyo Koyanagi Pablo Vergara Yuteng Wang Akinobu Ohba Toshie Naoi Kaspar E. Vogt Yoan Chérasse Noriki Kutsumura Takeshi Sakurai Taro Tezuka Masanori Sakaguchi Transient reactivation of small ensembles of adult-born neurons during REM sleep supports memory consolidation in mice Nature Communications |
| title | Transient reactivation of small ensembles of adult-born neurons during REM sleep supports memory consolidation in mice |
| title_full | Transient reactivation of small ensembles of adult-born neurons during REM sleep supports memory consolidation in mice |
| title_fullStr | Transient reactivation of small ensembles of adult-born neurons during REM sleep supports memory consolidation in mice |
| title_full_unstemmed | Transient reactivation of small ensembles of adult-born neurons during REM sleep supports memory consolidation in mice |
| title_short | Transient reactivation of small ensembles of adult-born neurons during REM sleep supports memory consolidation in mice |
| title_sort | transient reactivation of small ensembles of adult born neurons during rem sleep supports memory consolidation in mice |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-62554-8 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT sakthivelsrinivasan transientreactivationofsmallensemblesofadultbornneuronsduringremsleepsupportsmemoryconsolidationinmice AT iyokoyanagi transientreactivationofsmallensemblesofadultbornneuronsduringremsleepsupportsmemoryconsolidationinmice AT pablovergara transientreactivationofsmallensemblesofadultbornneuronsduringremsleepsupportsmemoryconsolidationinmice AT yutengwang transientreactivationofsmallensemblesofadultbornneuronsduringremsleepsupportsmemoryconsolidationinmice AT akinobuohba transientreactivationofsmallensemblesofadultbornneuronsduringremsleepsupportsmemoryconsolidationinmice AT toshienaoi transientreactivationofsmallensemblesofadultbornneuronsduringremsleepsupportsmemoryconsolidationinmice AT kasparevogt transientreactivationofsmallensemblesofadultbornneuronsduringremsleepsupportsmemoryconsolidationinmice AT yoancherasse transientreactivationofsmallensemblesofadultbornneuronsduringremsleepsupportsmemoryconsolidationinmice AT norikikutsumura transientreactivationofsmallensemblesofadultbornneuronsduringremsleepsupportsmemoryconsolidationinmice AT takeshisakurai transientreactivationofsmallensemblesofadultbornneuronsduringremsleepsupportsmemoryconsolidationinmice AT tarotezuka transientreactivationofsmallensemblesofadultbornneuronsduringremsleepsupportsmemoryconsolidationinmice AT masanorisakaguchi transientreactivationofsmallensemblesofadultbornneuronsduringremsleepsupportsmemoryconsolidationinmice |