Wakefulness regulation of memory encoding and retrieval: structure and activity
Yan-Jia Luo1, Wei-Kun Su2,3, Wei Yao3
1Department of Anesthesiology, Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200011, China.
National Science Review
|February 13, 2026
Summary
Wakefulness is crucial for memory encoding and retrieval, regulating these processes through brain structure and activity. Enhancing arousal may improve memory function in conditions like aging and Alzheimer's disease.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cognitive Science
Background:
- Sleep is vital for memory consolidation, but wakefulness's role in memory encoding and retrieval is less understood.
- Existing research extensively covers sleep's impact on memory, necessitating a summary of wakefulness's contributions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To synthesize evidence on how wakefulness regulates memory encoding and retrieval.
- To explore the mechanisms through which wakefulness influences memory processing.
Main Methods:
- Review of current scientific literature on sleep-wake states and memory.
- Analysis of structural and activity-dependent mechanisms of wakefulness on memory.
- Examination of memory engrams, synaptic plasticity, neural oscillations, and adult hippocampal neurogenesis.
Main Results:
- Wakefulness regulates memory via structural innervation and activity-dependent modulation.
- Key mechanisms include memory engrams, synaptic plasticity, and neural oscillations.
- Adult hippocampal neurogenesis is identified as a timescale-specific regulator linking wakefulness and memory.
Conclusions:
- Wakefulness abnormalities impair memory encoding and retrieval in aging, Alzheimer's disease, and post-anesthesia.
- Moderate enhancement of arousal levels presents a potential strategy for improving memory function.
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