PuSH - Publication Server of Helmholtz Zentrum München

Harkotte, M.* ; Heimel, F.* ; Dimitrov, S.* ; Inostroza, M.* ; Born, J.

The emergence of new schema memory requires sleep.

J. Neurosci. 46:e1810252025 (2026)
DOI PMC
Schema memory refers to generalized knowledge that is formed across multiple episodes containing regularities. Schema memory is thought to be formed in an active systems consolidation process that transforms individual episodic representations into neocortically anchored schema representations and that is facilitated by sleep. Here we show in rats that sleep is indeed critical for the emergence of a new schema memory. Male rats (n = 20) were trained on an elaborated version of the object-place recognition (OPR) task, which allowed for abstraction of a spatial rule across eight encoding episodes spaced 20 minutes apart without intermittent sleep. During each episode, animals freely explored two objects in an open-field arena. Following the encoding phase, animals either slept or were kept awake for two hours, after which they remained undisturbed for 22 hours before schema memory for the spatial rule was assessed. Only animals that slept during the two-hour post-encoding window exhibited schema memory. Prior knowledge conflicting with the spatial rule prevented schema memory formation. c-Fos expression assessed at retrieval indicated that successful schema recall was supported by a more sparsely activated yet highly interconnected network comprising, amongst others, medial prefrontal cortex and hippocampus. Our findings highlight the critical role of immediate post-encoding sleep in forming new spatial schema memory.Significance Statement Schema representations integrate regularities abstracted from multiple episodes. Whether and how the formation of schema representations benefit from sleep is still unclear, partly because evoking abstraction processes across episodes within a single wake period in animal models is challenging. Using an object-place recognition (OPR) - based schema memory task, we show for the first time in rats that sleep critically supports schema memory formation. Rats that slept, but not those kept awake for 2 hours after encoding the eight task episodes, expressed schema memory 24 hours later. Schema recall after sleep was associated with a sparse but distinctly more coordinated network activation, mainly comprising medial prefrontal cortex and hippocampus. Our findings highlight sleep's role in newly forming distributed spatial schema representations.
Altmetric
Additional Metrics?
[➜Log in]
Edit extra informations Login
Publication type Article: Journal article
Document type Scientific Article
Keywords Memory Consolidation ; Object–place Recognition ; Schema Memory ; Sleep; Sharp-wave Ripples; C-fos; Hippocampal; Induction
ISSN (print) / ISBN 0270-6474
e-ISSN 1529-2401
Journal Journal of Neuroscience
Quellenangaben Volume: 46, Issue: 8, Pages: , Article Number: e1810252025 Supplement: ,
Publisher Society for Neuroscience
Publishing Place 11 Dupont Circle, Nw, Ste 500, Washington, Dc 20036 Usa
Reviewing status Peer reviewed
Institute(s) Institute of Diabetes Research and Metabolic Diseases (IDM)
Grants Hertie Foundation (Hertie Network of Excellence in Clinical Neuroscience)
European Research Council
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft