23. Oktober, 2025, 11.00 Uhr: Anatomisches Kolloquium

Online and offline LTP during memory consolidation

We sleep every day.  It is an evolutionarily conserved behavior, but its physiological significance is not fully understood. Using a novel optogenetic technique, we found that long-term potentiation (LTP) of synaptic transmission - a strengthening of information transfer between neurons - occurs during sleep and transforms memory into a long-term form. LTP first occurs in the hippocampus during sleep on the same day. Then another wave of LTP occurs the next day to transfer the memory from the hippocampus to the cortex during the next day's sleep. Our study demonstrates the importance of sleep in the formation of long-term memory.