Neurofeedback training can modulate task-relevant memory replay in rats

Scientific contexts / big pictures:

• How does SWR / replay content affect memory / behavioural performance? What’s beyond the literature has already suggested (lengthened SWR durations/ artificially generated SWRs)?
• Translational aspect: non-invasive, reinforced by neurofeedback.
• Neurofeeback technology as a model of manipulating neural activity patterns and see its causal effect on behaviours (relevant paper: Evidence for a neural law of effect)

Contributions to the literature:

• Neurofeebacks as a tool to effectively increase SWR rate.
• Decreased rate of SWRs in post-reward period followed by increased SWR rates during neurofeedback trials (some kind of homeostasis?).
  • see in this paper if lengthening the sharp wave ripple also reduces them afterwards.

Comments:

• What are neurofeedback really reinforcing? Being very still / motor related behaviours were reinforced? Were reference tetrodes/channels used to make sure triggered SWRs were not artefacts (can check Methods)?
• Could there be another experimental group of reinforcing behaviours (staying still etc.)?
• What’s the training timeline/schedule for neurofeedbacks?
• The paper was well-written and figures were clearly presented.
• During Neurofeedback trials, rats seem to be faster at making decisions?
• Could it be that the rats do something physical (e.g. licking, bruxing) that then correlates with an increase in detected SWRs? how to control for this? What if it increases noise that gets then spuriously classified as SWR? it would not be neurofeedback then…
• It looks like the neurofeedback procedure had no behavioural effect. maybe if it happened at times more relevant for the task (e.g. first visit to the new goal) it would have more visible effects?