# Olfactory memory acquisition consolidation and recall

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO · 2022 · $121,634

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract
Sleep benefits the nervous system but the mechanisms underlying its restorative and neuroprotective
properties are unknown. This understanding is important: without a circuit, cellular and molecular
understanding we limit our ability to address disorders, such as Alzheimer's disease, that are exacerbated by
lack of sleep or to devise treatments based on sleep's benefits. By examining and manipulating the most
compact circuit that requires sleep to consolidate memory, we hope to decipher the molecular and cellular
rules by which sleep enhances the performance of a neural network. Rules employed by a simple circuit are
likely to be followed by cells within circuit modules that are linked together to form the much more complicated
neural network of a human brain.
 We will utilize the anatomic simplicity and optical malleability of the C. elegans olfactory circuit to test
hypotheses designed to elucidate the rules by which sleep acts to promote memory. Specifically, we will: Aim
1. Test the hypothesis that sleep is required for olfactory memory consolidation in a C. elegans classical
conditioning model. We will examine sleep in animals that have been conditioned to avoid butanone. We will
test the hypothesis that sleep is correlated with the strength of the memory and that it is both necessary and
sufficient to promote memory consolidation. We will identify the cells that are required for sleep post training.
These studies will lay the groundwork for understanding if sleep occurs post training and whether it is indeed
necessary and sufficient to promote memory consolidation. Aim 2. Identify the synaptic basis of memory
consolidation during sleep. First, we will observe the synapses via GRASP Then, using light-driven tools to
activate or inactivate the animals during the consolidation period, we will test memory consolidation. We will
then ask if visible markers for connections between cells are altered. These would provide the first study with
synaptic resolution in a live animal of a memory trace being consolidated by sleep. Upon completion of these
aims, we will have a conceptual, molecular, cellular, and circuit framework to understand how sleep alters the
cell's function to benefit memory storage and thus behavioral fitness. The impact of this study is that it will
ultimately inform study and treatment of disorders of sleep and memory and harness sleep's benefits to tackle
aging and neurodegeneration.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10698778
- **Project number:** 3R01DC005991-15S1
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO
- **Principal Investigator:** Noelle D L 'Etoile
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $121,634
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2004-12-05 → 2024-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10698778

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10698778, Olfactory memory acquisition consolidation and recall (3R01DC005991-15S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10698778. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*