Figure 8. Schematic of Hypothesized Circuit Involved in REM Sleep Memory Consolidation.
PGO waves originating from the PPN may trigger beta activity in the basal ganglia. This beta activity in the basal ganglia may then be transmitted to cortical areas including the ACC and DLPFC. The triggering of the beta activity by the PGO waves may begin a dialogue between the basal ganglia, ACC, and DLPC (as well as other areas) through the beta band in which a motor plan is evaluated, ultimately leading to motor memory consolidation. Theta activity may be a channel through which the hippocampus provides contextual and spatial information about a given memory to the ACC and other parts of the frontal cortex. (PPN = Pedunculopontine tegmental nucleus and Hipp = Hippocampus).