Sleep Science Podcast

Episode 8: Daniel Bendor: Memory Replay and Consolidation in Rodents

Nov 24, 2020
Daniel Bendor, neuroscientist at UCL studying hippocampal place cells and memory replay in rodents. He discusses how targeted memory reactivation can bias hippocampal replay, the cortex–hippocampus dialogue that may train cortical memory components, differences between REM and non-REM replay, and ethical worries around manipulating memories.
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ANECDOTE

How One Paper Redirected His Research Path

  • Daniel Bendor moved from auditory perception in primates to hippocampal replay after reading a REM replay paper from Matt Wilson's lab.
  • That paper inspired his postdoc choice and later TMR rodent experiments combining auditory cues with replay.
INSIGHT

TMR Biases Hippocampal Replay During Sleep

  • Targeted memory reactivation (TMR) biases hippocampal replay rather than directly forcing it.
  • In rats, playing a sound during sleep increased replay of the track direction previously paired with that sound, showing cortical cues steer hippocampal replay.
INSIGHT

Single Cue Creates Lasting Replay Bias

  • A single TMR cue creates a transient brain state that biases multiple subsequent replay events.
  • In Bendor's rodent study the bias lasted up to at least 10 seconds until another cue shifted replay direction.
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