Sleep is often thought of as an “offline” state, but in reality, the brain is actively processing memories when we sleep.

In this talk, Loren Frank will present an overview of what we know about memory and sleep. He will then present work from his laboratory that explores how memory-related activity in animals differs between awake and sleep states and how sleep contributes to memory formation. This work highlights the interactions between the hippocampus and other brain areas that allow the brain to form memories and store them long-term.

Frank is a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator and a professor in the departments of physiology and psychiatry at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). He is also the director of the Kavli Institute for Fundamental Neuroscience at UCSF. Frank received his B.A. in psychology and cognitive studies from Carleton College and his Ph.D. in systems neuroscience and computation from MIT. He conducted post-doctoral research at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard University. His laboratory uses a combination of techniques to study the neural bases of learning, memory and decision-making.

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SCHEDULE

Doors open: 5:30 p.m. (No entrance before 5:30 p.m.)

Lecture: 6:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. (Admittance closes at 6:20 p.m.)

The Gerald D. Fischbach Auditorium complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act and offers accessible seating to visitors with special access needs.

The theme of the 2023 Simons Foundation Presidential Lecture series in neuroscience and autism science is The Neuroscience of Sleep. All animals need to sleep; it is essential to health and well-being, with many disease states disrupting sleep. Yet, despite its importance, the fundamental biological reasons and mechanisms for sleep remain poorly understood. This set of talks will explore the state of sleep science, including the mechanisms that initiate sleep, what happens in the brain during sleep, what happens when sleep is disordered and why sleep is necessary.

Sleep and Memory