Part 6/10:
The answer lies in the functionality of these awake ripples. When they occur post significant events, they effectively tag those experiences for priority processing during sleep. These awakenings thus serve as ‘memory bookmarks,’ allowing the brain to identify and hold onto essential information until favorable conditions for consolidation are met during sleep.
The Experimental Setup
In an innovative experimental design, researchers engaged mice in a figure-eight maze that involved learning a specific strategy to obtain rewards. By monitoring hundreds of neurons in the hippocampus throughout this process, the research team could observe how memories were formed and tagged for future consolidation.