Non-invasive tracking of ripple-like activity during human sleep using MEG

Abstract

Hippocampal ripples are considered a key mechanism of sleep-dependent memory consolidation. In humans, however, their direct investigation has relied on invasive recordings from patients with epilepsy, because EEG provides limited access to fast activity from deep medial temporal structures. Here, we tested whether source-resolved magnetoencephalography can reveal physiologically meaningful ripple-like activity during NREM sleep in healthy humans. These events showed hallmarks expected of sleep ripples: they were most prominent in medial temporal regions and embedded within slow oscillation (SO)-spindle dynamics, occurring preferentially during SO up-states and spindle centers. To test mnemonic relevance, we combined sleep MEG with targeted memory reactivation, in which learning cues were replayed during sleep. TMR improved memory performance, and later remembered cues preferentially recruited medial temporal ripple-like events alongside cortical spindles. Ripple-like events also coincided with enhanced item-specific reactivation during successful TMR. Together, these findings establish MEG as a non-invasive window onto hippocampo-cortical memory dynamics during sleep.