The neurons firing inside the brain’s memory center as we sleep might not only be revisiting past experiences Readings were taken before, during, and after the animals tackled maze challenges in order to evaluate the preferences of nerve cells while outside of the maze, such as during periods of rest. The new approach meant that as well as linking physical spaces in the maze with specific neuron activity in real time, the team could also work backwards and map neuron activity to points in the maze while the rats were dozing. We can see these other changes occurring during sleep, and when we put the animals back in the environment a second time, we can validate that these changes really do reflect something that was learned while the animals were asleep It’s as if the second exposure to the space actually happens while the animal is sleeping
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Tuesday, December 3, 2024