# Thalamocortical and corticocortical mechanisms for sleep-dependent visual learning

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN AT ANN ARBOR · 2021 · $377,807

## Abstract

Project summary: Consolidating transient sensory experiences into long-lasting memories is a fundamental
function of the brain, linked to synaptic plasticity. The importance of sleep for promoting this process, and the
disruptive effect of sleep deprivation on it, have been appreciated for nearly a century. However, it remains
unclear how sleep-associated changes in the activity of specific brain circuits contribute to sensory plasticity.
Using a combination of longitudinal recordings of neuronal activity in freely-behaving mice, recently-developed
optogenetic strategies, novel computational tools for characterizing network activity patterns, we will test the
necessity and sufficiency of sleep-associated patterns of thalamocortical activity in consolidating a simple form
of experience dependent plasticity. We will test the hypothesis that coherent firing during network oscillations
unique NREM sleep plays a causal role in promoting plasticity between the thalamic lateral geniculate nucleus
(LGN) and the primary visual cortex (V1) following presentation of a novel visual stimulus. Here we will selectively
manipulate cortical, thalamocortical and corticothalamic neuronal populations in a state specific manner. We will
measure both response changes in individual V1 and LGN neurons to the presented stimulus, and behavioral
responses to the presented stimulus in the context of a visual discrimination task. We will test whether neurons
that are selectively responsive to the visual stimulus play a critical role in guiding network activity patterns during
subsequent sleep, acting as an instructive mechanism for circuit plasticity. Finally, we will test whether following
visual experience, sleep-dependent communication between V1 and the perirhinal cortex (essential for visual
recognition memory) is responsible sleep-dependent discrimination learning.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10058282
- **Project number:** 5R01NS104776-04
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN AT ANN ARBOR
- **Principal Investigator:** SARA J ATON
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $377,807
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2017-12-15 → 2022-11-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10058282

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10058282, Thalamocortical and corticocortical mechanisms for sleep-dependent visual learning (5R01NS104776-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10058282. Licensed CC0.

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