Validating the theoretical bases of sleep reactivation during sharp‐wave ripples and their association with emotional valence

Sleep is important for memory consolidation, and an abundant literature suggests that reactivation in the hippocampus during sleep is instrumental to this process. Yet, the current interpretation of activity during sharp‐waves ripples (SWRs), as replay of wake experiences, relies on hypotheses that, while widely accepted, have only recently begun to be tested directly. Moreover, this theory has been mainly studied in the context of pure spatial learning, and it is still not clear how emotional valence can fit into this conceptual framework when considering reward‐ or punishment‐based learning. In this review, we will present recent experimental arguments validating the interpretation of sleep replay as reactivation of awake experiences and examine the evidence showing that the emotional valence is also replayed during sleep in a coordinated fashion with hippocampal SWRs. Finally, we will detail recent experiments showing that brain–computer interfaces can be used to modify the emotional valence associated with sleep replay.