Waking and sleeping states are privileged periods for distinct mnemonic processes. In waking behavior, rapid retrieval of previous experience aids memory-guided decision making. In sleep, a gradual series of reactivated associations supports consolidation of episodes into memory networks. Synchronized bursts of hippocampal place cells during events called sharp-wave ripples communicate associated neural patterns across distributed circuits in both waking and sleeping states. Differences between sleep and awake sharp-wave ripples, and in particular the accuracy of recapitulated experience, highlight their state-dependent roles in memory processes.
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