Selection of experience for memory by hippocampal sharp wave ripples. (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38547293/)

These scientists wanted to understand how our brains decide which memories to keep and which ones to forget. They studied mice by recording the activity of many neurons in their brains while they were going through a maze. They found that as the mice moved through the maze multiple times, different groups of neurons were active, representing the places they visited and the things they experienced.

They also noticed that when the mice received a reward in the maze, a special brain activity called sharp wave ripples occurred. This activity seemed to help the brain remember the events that happened around the reward. During sleep after the maze, the brain replayed these important events, strengthening the memories associated with them.

In simple terms, the scientists discovered that our brains have a way of tagging important experiences during learning, so we can remember them better later on. This tagging process helps us decide which memories to keep and which ones to forget.

Yang W., Sun C., Huszar R., Hainmueller T., Kiselev K., Buzsaki G. Selection of experience for memory by hippocampal sharp wave ripples. Science. 2024 Mar 29;383(6690):1478-1483. doi: 10.1126/science.adk8261. Epub 2024 Mar 28.