Hippocampal sharp-wave ripples in waking and sleeping states

•Hippocampal SWRs contain neural activity reactivations in both waking and sleeping.•SWRs in waking and sleeping entail distinct features, particularly replay accuracy.•Features of awake SWRs suggest a role in rapid navigational planning.•Features of sleep SWRs suggest a role in gradual memory consolidation.

Waking and sleeping states are privileged periods for distinct mnemonic processes. In waking behavior, rapid retrieval of previous experience aids memory-guided decision making. In sleep, a gradual series of reactivated associations supports consolidation of episodes into memory networks. Synchronized bursts of hippocampal place cells during events called sharp-wave ripples communicate associated neural patterns across distributed circuits in both waking and sleeping states. Differences between sleep and awake sharp-wave ripples, and in particular the accuracy of recapitulated experience, highlight their state-dependent roles in memory processes.