Sleep deprivation during a specific 3-hour time window post-training impairs hippocampal synaptic plasticity and memory

• Published in: Neurobiology of learning and memory Vol. 109; pp. 122 - 130
• Main Authors: Prince, Toni-Moi, Wimmer, Mathieu, Choi, Jennifer, Havekes, Robbert, Aton, Sara, Abel, Ted
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Amsterdam Elsevier Inc 01.03.2014; Elsevier; Elsevier BV
• Subjects: Animals; Behavioral psychophysiology; Biological and medical sciences; Brain; Disorders of higher nervous function. Focal brain diseases. Central vestibular syndrome and deafness. Brain stem syndromes; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Hippocampus; Hippocampus - physiopathology; Long-Term Potentiation; Male; Medical sciences; Memory; Memory, Long-Term - physiology; Mice; Mice, Inbred C57BL; Nervous system (semeiology, syndromes); Neurobiology; Neurology; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychology. Psychophysiology; Recognition (Psychology) - physiology; Sleep deprivation; Sleep Deprivation - physiopathology; Sleep loss; Space Perception - physiology; Spatial memory; Time Factors; Sleep loss; Long-term potentiation; Hippocampus; Spatial memory; Nervous system diseases; Deprivation; Central nervous system; Sleep disorder; Long term potentiation; Encephalon; Sleep; Insomnia; Synaptic plasticity; Sleep wake cycle; Neurological disorder
• ISSN: 1074-7427; 1095-9564
• DOI: 10.1016/j.nlm.2013.11.021

•Sleep deprivation for 3h impairs memory when onset occurs 1h after training.•Sleep deprivation for 3h impairs LTP when onset occurs 1h after training.•Sleep deprivation for 3h, beginning immediately after training, does not impair memory.•Sleep deprivation for 3h, beginning immediately after training, does not impair LTP. Sleep deprivation disrupts hippocampal function and plasticity. In particular, long-term memory consolidation is impaired by sleep deprivation, suggesting that a specific critical period exists following learning during which sleep is necessary. To elucidate the impact of sleep deprivation on long-term memory consolidation and synaptic plasticity, long-term memory was assessed when mice were sleep deprived following training in the hippocampus-dependent object place recognition task. We found that 3h of sleep deprivation significantly impaired memory when deprivation began 1h after training. In contrast, 3h of deprivation beginning immediately post-training did not impair spatial memory. Furthermore, a 3-h sleep deprivation beginning 1h after training impaired hippocampal long-term potentiation (LTP), whereas sleep deprivation immediately after training did not affect LTP. Together, our findings define a specific 3-h critical period, extending from 1 to 4h after training, during which sleep deprivation impairs hippocampal function.