Quiescent–remodeling cycles sculpt long-term pattern memory during regeneration

Pattern memory replay during post-injury quiescence probably facilitates the transfer of positional information from transient wound-adjacent organizers to durable organism-wide patterning circuits. In Developmental Cell, investigators show that pattern memories are not static during this interval but are instead converted into their long-term form during the quiescent phase. The team tracked bioelectric–transcriptional ensembles in planarian body-wall muscle across acquisition, a prolonged (17–20 h) quiescent/rest period, and regenerative outcome on the following day. Acquisition and outcome recruited distinct cellular ensembles, and ensemble activity gradually shifted from an acquisition-like to an outcome-like state during quiescence. Remarkably, deep quiescence episodes drove ensemble drift toward outcome, whereas rapid remodeling bursts opposed this drift. These observations confirm earlier evidence for a key role of quiescence in pattern consolidation and offer intriguing clues to the complementary functions of quiescent and remodeling phases in this process.