Topic: REM-associated phasic theta waves

Current theories establish that memories are transiently stored in the hippocampus and transferred to the neocortex for long-term storage during sleep. These processes involve brain-wide plastic changes, heralded by macroscopic brain activities that occur upon changes in the neuromodulatory activity of the brainstem. The brainstem prompts periods of both enduring and transient changes of neuronal excitability that modify the activity of other sub-structures in a precise manner. Thus, brainstem activity may play a critical role in memory formation. However, the specific neural mechanisms that a