Hunger and sleep recruit distinct brain systems to form spatial memory
By demonstrating that hunger consolidates spatial memory via a non-hippocampal mechanism that critically involves the retrosplenial cortex, we identify a mode of memory formation that is distinct from well-known hippocampus-dependent memory formation during sleep. Food-deprived rats encoded object locations and, during a subsequent 2-h consolidation phase, either received food and slept…
Research has revealed that hunger and sleep each utilize distinct brain systems to form spatial memory. While sleep-dependent memory consolidation has been well-documented, the role of hunger in this process has now been identified. To investigate, food-deprived rats were tested in three different conditions: Sleep-Fed, Wake-Fed, and Wake-Hungry. Post-encoding, both Wake-Hungry and Sleep-Fed rats showed strong spatial memory during later retrieval testing, whereas Wake-Fed rats failed to exhibit such memory.
Blocking neuropeptide-Y (NPY) signaling during the consolidation phase eliminated hunger-consolidated memory. Unlike sleep, hunger-consolidated memory did not rely on the hippocampus for memory formation and retrieval. Moreover, inhibiting the retrosplenial cortex during retrieval abolished hunger-consolidated memory but left memory formed during sleep intact. This suggests that brain systems recruited to form spatial memory are tuned to specific brain states and differ fundamentally between sleep and hunger.
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