Additional findings from our study support the notion that vaccination with seasonal influenza vaccines in the preceding four years (2004 08) also conferred a certain degree of protective immunological memory relevant to the new viral strain.
Specifically we found earlier that a memory relevant stimulus may also evoke a transient increase in alpha (cf. Klimesch et al., 2004) which was related to controlled access to memory with subsequent ERD reflecting conscious retrieval of that information (cf. Jaspers et al., 2010).
Concerning memory relevant sleep features during the night, most empirical evidence is present for individual slow waves (Mölle et al., 2002), sharp wave ripples (Buzsaki, 1984; Mölle et al., 2009) and sleep spindles (Clemens et al., 2005; Fogel and Smith, 2006; Schabus et al., 2004).
Sinclair et al. (1994) found that increased sunlight exposure was associated with an increase in heuristic processing, which requires memory storage and relevant memory retrieval, but a decrease in systematic processing, a more complicated process requiring analysis and judgment [ 39].
Gray and Wegner's guidelines can map on to several memory-relevant mechanisms.
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.05352.019 We demonstrate increased corticothalamic synchrony during successful memory encoding, recording directly from the two most memory-relevant thalamic nuclei (ATN and DMTN).
Theta-gamma cross-frequency coupling (CFC) predicted successful memory formation, with the involvement of gamma oscillations suggesting memory-relevant local processing in the ATN.
Certainly, the memory-relevant thalamic connections may include multiple cortical areas, but if the memory effect does not have any region-specificity it may indicate orienting or attention, etc. more than a memory specific effect.
The specific involvement of neurons required for memory consolidation (and their memory-relevant post-synaptic targets) in the regulation of sleep suggests that generation of sleep by activation of learning circuits is an intrinsic property of the circuit, not an extrinsically imposed phenomenon.
