Sleep as a window on the sensorimotor foundations of the developing hippocampus. Issue 2 (4th May 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Del Rio‐Bermudez, Carlos; Blumberg, Mark S.
• Other Names: Ohana Ora guestEditor.; Alberini Cristina guestEditor.; Donato Flavio guestEditor.
• Is Part Of: Hippocampus. Volume 32:Issue 2(2022)
• Page Start: 89
• Page End: 97
• Publication Date: 2021-05-04
• Subjects: development -- functional connectivity -- myoclonic twitching -- red nucleus -- REM sleep -- somatosensory cortex; Hippocampus (Brain) -- Periodicals; 612.825
• DOI: 10.1002/hipo.23334
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1050-9631

Abstract

Abstract: The hippocampal formation plays established roles in learning, memory, and related cognitive functions. Recent findings also suggest that the hippocampus integrates sensory feedback from self‐generated movements to modulate ongoing motor responses in a changing environment. Such findings support the view of Bland and Oddie (Behavioural Brain Research, 2001, 127, 119–136) that the hippocampus is a site of sensorimotor integration. In further support of this view, we review neurophysiological evidence in developing rats that hippocampal function is built on a sensorimotor foundation and that this foundation is especially evident early in development. Moreover, at those ages when the hippocampus is first establishing functional connectivity with distant sensory and motor structures, that connectivity is preferentially expressed during periods of active (or REM) sleep. These findings reinforce the notion that sleep, as the predominant state of early infancy, provides a critical context for sensorimotor development, including development of the hippocampus and its associated network.