Ibrahim Ahmed Z, Abdou Kareem, Nomoto Masanori, Yamada-Nomoto Kaori, Okubo-Suzuki Reiko, Inokuchi Kaoru
Research Centre for Idling Brain Science, University of Toyama, Toyama, 930-0194, Japan.
Department of Biochemistry, Graduate School of Medicine and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Toyama, Toyama, Japan.
Mol Brain. 2025 Jan 23;18(1):4. doi: 10.1186/s13041-025-01175-0.
Cognitive processes such as action planning and decision-making require the integration of multiple sensory modalities in response to temporal cues, yet the underlying mechanism is not fully understood. Sleep has a crucial role for memory consolidation and promoting cognitive flexibility. Our aim is to identify the role of sleep in integrating different modalities to enhance cognitive flexibility and temporal task execution while identifying the specific brain regions that mediate this process. We have designed "Auditory-Gated Patience-to-Action" Task in which mice should process different auditory signals before action execution as well as analyzing the visual inputs for feedback of their action. Mice could learn the task rule and apply it only after sleeping period and could keep the performance constant across sessions. c-fos positive cells showed the involvement of prelimbic cortex (PrL) during task execution. Chemo-genetic inhibition verified that PrL is required for proper signal response and action timing. These findings emphasize that sleep and cortical activity are keys for cognitive flexibility in adapting to different modalities.
诸如行动规划和决策等认知过程需要整合多种感觉模态以响应时间线索，但其潜在机制尚未完全明确。睡眠对于记忆巩固和促进认知灵活性起着至关重要的作用。我们的目标是确定睡眠在整合不同模态以增强认知灵活性和时间任务执行方面的作用，同时确定介导这一过程的特定脑区。我们设计了“听觉门控耐心行动”任务，其中小鼠在执行行动之前应处理不同的听觉信号，并分析视觉输入以获取其行动的反馈。小鼠只有在睡眠期后才能学习任务规则并应用它，并且在各实验环节中能保持表现稳定。c-fos阳性细胞显示在前边缘皮层（PrL）参与任务执行过程。化学遗传抑制证实PrL对于正确的信号响应和行动时机是必需的。这些发现强调睡眠和皮层活动是适应不同模态时认知灵活性的关键。
