Decoding sleeping brain activity: Integrating experiments and computational neuroscience to elucidate the cognitive benefit of sleep

解码睡眠大脑活动：结合实验和计算神经科学来阐明睡眠的认知益处

• 批准号: RGPIN-2020-06342
• 负责人: Tatsuno, Masami
• 金额: $ 2.4万
• 依托单位: University of Lethbridge
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2022-01-01 至 2023-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=761422
• 关键词: Decoding; sleeping; brain; activity; Integrating

Various brain functions such as perception, learning and memory and decision making emerge from neural computations. Using electrophysiological and computational approaches, we have been specifically focusing on `learning and memory' because it provides the basis of other high-order cognitive functions. Memory is broadly categorized into explicit and implicit memories. Explicit memory is a type of memory that you can recall consciously and verbally describe (for example, the breakfast you had this morning). Implicit memory is a type of memory that you cannot recall consciously nor verbally describe (for example, the motor skill required to ride a bike). Two important questions regarding these memories are how they are represented in the brain and how/when they are consolidated in the neural circuits. A widely supported theory is that a group of anatomically/functionally connected neurons, called a `cell assembly', represents memory. It has been also proposed that consolidation of memory occurs in part during sleep. This memory function of sleep has been supported by experiments showing that behaviourally induced neural activity reactivates during sleep (memory reactivation) and that memory is modified by electrical stimulation during sleep. Although we have these general frameworks for memory and sleep, the term `cell assembly' lacks the stringent definition and we still do not understand how different types of memory are represented by cell assemblies. We do not know how cell assemblies are modified during sleep either. Furthermore, experiments in which memory was modified by electrical stimulation during sleep were challenged by recent negative results. Therefore, in this proposal, we will perform electrophysiological experiments to clarify the mixed experimental results on memory and electrical stimulation, develop a systematic cell assembly detection method to understand how explicit and implicit memories are represented, and develop a computational model to understand how sleep modifies neural circuits and hence memories. The outcomes of this proposal will highlight similarities and differences between explicit and implicit memory, provide better estimates of storage capacity, clarify the effect of electrical stimulation during sleep, and provide better mechanistic insights into how synaptic plasticity during sleep modifies neural activity. The work will also help improve brain-inspired technologies. For instance, deep learning may become more flexible and obtain better categorization ability by implementing memory function of sleep.

从神经计算中出现了各种大脑功能，例如感知，学习和记忆以及决策。使用电生理和计算方法，我们专门专门针对“学习和记忆”，因为它提供了其他高阶认知功能的基础。内存将记忆广泛分为明确和隐式记忆。明确的记忆是一种记忆的类型，您可以有意识地记住它，并在语言上描述（例如，您今天早上吃的早餐）。隐式内存是一种您无法自觉地回忆或口头描述的一种记忆类型（例如，骑自行车所需的运动技能）。关于这些记忆的两个重要问题是它们如何在大脑中的代表以及如何/何时在神经回路中合并。一个广泛支持的理论是，一组解剖/功能连接的神经元称为“细胞组件”，代表记忆。还提出，在睡眠期间部分发生记忆的巩固。实验表明，睡眠的这种记忆功能得到了支持，表明行为诱导的神经活动在睡眠期间重新激活（记忆重新激活），并且在睡眠期间的电刺激中，记忆被修饰。尽管我们有这些用于内存和睡眠的通用框架，但“单元组装”一词缺乏严格的定义，我们仍然不了解细胞组件如何表示不同类型的内存。我们不知道在睡眠期间如何修改细胞组件。此外，在睡眠期间通过电刺激改变记忆的实验受到最近的负面结果的挑战。因此，在此提案中，我们将执行电生理实验，以阐明有关记忆和电刺激的混合实验结果，开发一种系统的细胞组装检测方法，以了解如何代表明确和隐式记忆，并开发一种计算模型，以了解睡眠如何修饰神经回路，并因此记忆。该提案的结果将突出显示明确记忆和隐式记忆之间的相似性和差异，提供更好的存储能力估计，阐明睡眠期间电刺激的影响，并为睡眠期间的突触可塑性提供更好的机械洞察力，从而改变了神经活动。这项工作还将有助于改善受脑启发的技术。例如，深度学习可能会变得更加灵活，并通过实现睡眠的记忆功能来获得更好的分类能力。