How the hippocampus learns patterns over time and during sleep
Learning novel structure across time and sleep
This work looks at how a part of the brain called the hippocampus picks up patterns across experiences and during sleep to help people remember and navigate.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Pennsylvania NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Philadelphia, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11312592 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
You would take part in tasks that require learning relationships across events (for example, remembering how places or cues relate to each other) while your brain is scanned with high-resolution MRI. The team uses a computer neural network model that predicts how different hippocampal subregions should respond when they form these distributed memories. Researchers will compare the model's predictions with the brain imaging signals during learning and with activity measured around sleep to see whether the hippocampus replays and reorganizes those memories. Together the experiments aim to explain the brain mechanisms that let us extract structure from experience and stabilize it during sleep.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Ideal participants are adults who can undergo MRI (no metal implants), can follow memory/navigation tasks, and are willing to attend in-person scan and sleep-related sessions.
Not a fit: People with MRI contraindications, severe cognitive impairment that prevents task participation, or who cannot tolerate sleep/scan procedures are unlikely to benefit from participating.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this could improve understanding of how memory and navigation form and point to new ways to boost memory or target sleep-based therapies.
How similar studies have performed: Previous studies have shown hippocampal learning signals and sleep-related replay, but combining high-resolution fMRI with detailed computational models to test subfield-specific predictions is a newer approach.
Where this research is happening
Philadelphia, United States
- University of Pennsylvania — Philadelphia, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Schapiro, Anna C — University of Pennsylvania
- Study coordinator: Schapiro, Anna C
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.