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Updated: Jun 6, 2026

Measuring Neural Mechanisms Underlying Sleep-Dependent Memory Consolidation During Naps in Early Childhood
Published on: October 2, 2019
Memory reactivation underlies experience-dependent adaptive regulation of sleep
Menghan Yu1,2,3, Junjie Wang1,2, Zihan Zhai1,2
1School of Life Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing, P. R. China.
None:
Recent memories are consolidated during sleep by spontaneous reactivation. However, whether and how memory reactivation affects sleep dynamics remain unclear. By tracking and modulating memory activity during sleep in mice, we revealed that negative memory reactivation promoted arousal, whereas positive memory supported sleep stability. This regulation was mediated by the reactivation of experience-specific hippocampus-amygdala engram circuits during sleep. In chronic stress models, negative memory reactivation promoted sleep disturbance, and targeted suppression of memory reactivation restored normal sleep. Our findings establish a memory-dependent sleep regulation in which memory reactivation engages downstream circuits responsive to specific memory content.
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