Does cross‐frequency phase coupling of oscillatory brain activity contribute to a better understanding of visual working memory?

2018 ◽  
Vol 110 (2) ◽  
pp. 245-255 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Sauseng ◽  
Charline Peylo ◽  
Anna Lena Biel ◽  
Elisabeth V. C. Friedrich ◽  
Carola Romberg‐Taylor
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Visual Working Memory ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Phase Coupling ◽  
Oscillatory Brain Activity ◽  
Frequency Phase

scholarly journals The limited contribution of early visual cortex in visual working memory for surface roughness

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Munendo Fujimichi ◽  
Hiroki Yamamoto ◽  
Jun Saiki
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Visual Cortex ◽  
Visual Working Memory ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Visual Representations ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Daily Lives ◽  
Early Visual Cortex ◽  
Roughness Discrimination ◽  
Visual Properties

Are visual representations in the human early visual cortex necessary for visual working memory (VWM)? Previous studies suggest that VWM is underpinned by distributed representations across several brain regions, including the early visual cortex. Notably, in these studies, participants had to memorize images under consistent visual conditions. However, in our daily lives, we must retain the essential visual properties of objects despite changes in illumination or viewpoint. The role of brain regions—particularly the early visual cortices—in these situations remains unclear. The present study investigated whether the early visual cortex was essential for achieving stable VWM. Focusing on VWM for object surface properties, we conducted fMRI experiments while male and female participants performed a delayed roughness discrimination task in which sample and probe spheres were presented under varying illumination. By applying multi-voxel pattern analysis to brain activity in regions of interest, we found that the ventral visual cortex and intraparietal sulcus were involved in roughness VWM under changing illumination conditions. In contrast, VWM was not supported as robustly by the early visual cortex. These findings show that visual representations in the early visual cortex alone are insufficient for the robust roughness VWM representation required during changes in illumination.

scholarly journals Gray Matter Volume in Different Cortical Structures Dissociably Relates to Individual Differences in Capacity and Precision of Visual Working Memory

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (9) ◽  
pp. 4759-4770
Author(s):  
Maro G Machizawa ◽  
Jon Driver ◽  
Takeo Watanabe
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Individual Differences ◽  
Visual Working Memory ◽  
Gray Matter ◽  
Visual Information ◽  
Parietal Lobe ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Gray Matter Volume ◽  
Brain Anatomy

Abstract Visual working memory (VWM) refers to our ability to selectively maintain visual information in a mental representation. While cognitive limits of VWM greatly influence a variety of mental operations, it remains controversial whether the quantity or quality of representations in mind constrains VWM. Here, we examined behavior-to-brain anatomical relations as well as brain activity to brain anatomy associations with a “neural” marker specific to the retention interval of VWM. Our results consistently indicated that individuals who maintained a larger number of items in VWM tended to have a larger gray matter (GM) volume in their left lateral occipital region. In contrast, individuals with a superior ability to retain with high precision tended to have a larger GM volume in their right parietal lobe. These results indicate that individual differences in quantity and quality of VWM may be associated with regional GM volumes in a dissociable manner, indicating willful integration of information in VWM may recruit separable cortical subsystems.

Modulation of Alpha Activity in the Parieto-occipital Area by Distractors during a Visuospatial Working Memory Task: A Magnetoencephalographic Study

2015 ◽  
Vol 27 (3) ◽  
pp. 453-463 ◽  
Author(s):  
Satoe Ichihara-Takeda ◽  
Shogo Yazawa ◽  
Takashi Murahara ◽  
Takanobu Toyoshima ◽  
Jun Shinozaki ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Information Processing ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Memory Task ◽  
Alpha Activity ◽  
Delay Period ◽  
Visuospatial Working Memory ◽  
Occipital Area ◽  
Spectral Evolution ◽  
Oscillatory Brain Activity

Oscillatory brain activity is known to play an essential role in information processing in working memory. Recent studies have indicated that alpha activity (8–13 Hz) in the parieto-occipital area is strongly modulated in working memory tasks. However, the function of alpha activity in working memory is open to several interpretations, such that alpha activity may be a direct neural correlate of information processing in working memory or may reflect disengagement from information processing in other brain areas. To examine the functional contribution of alpha activity to visuospatial working memory, we introduced visuospatial distractors during a delay period and examined neural activity from the whole brain using magnetoencephalography. The strength of event-related alpha activity was estimated using the temporal spectral evolution (TSE) method. The results were as follows: (1) an increase of alpha activity during the delay period as indicated by elevated TSE curves was observed in parieto-occipital sensors in both the working memory task and a control task that did not require working memory; and (2) an increase of alpha activity during the delay period was not observed when distractors were presented, although TSE curves were constructed only from correct trials. These results indicate that the increase of alpha activity is not directly related to information processing in working memory but rather reflects the disengagement of attention from the visuospatial input.

scholarly journals Cross-frequency synchronization connects networks of fast and slow oscillations during visual working memory maintenance

eLife ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Felix Siebenhühner ◽  
Sheng H Wang ◽  
J Matias Palva ◽  
Satu Palva
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Visual Working Memory ◽  
Attentional Control ◽  
Phase Synchronization ◽  
Sensory Information ◽  
Gamma Oscillations ◽  
Frequency Synchronization ◽  
Neuronal Processing ◽  
Gamma Frequencies ◽  
Frequency Phase

Neuronal activity in sensory and fronto-parietal (FP) areas underlies the representation and attentional control, respectively, of sensory information maintained in visual working memory (VWM). Within these regions, beta/gamma phase-synchronization supports the integration of sensory functions, while synchronization in theta/alpha bands supports the regulation of attentional functions. A key challenge is to understand which mechanisms integrate neuronal processing across these distinct frequencies and thereby the sensory and attentional functions. We investigated whether such integration could be achieved by cross-frequency phase synchrony (CFS). Using concurrent magneto- and electroencephalography, we found that CFS was load-dependently enhanced between theta and alpha–gamma and between alpha and beta-gamma oscillations during VWM maintenance among visual, FP, and dorsal attention (DA) systems. CFS also connected the hubs of within-frequency-synchronized networks and its strength predicted individual VWM capacity. We propose that CFS integrates processing among synchronized neuronal networks from theta to gamma frequencies to link sensory and attentional functions.

scholarly journals EEG correlates of working memory performance in females

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuri G. Pavlov ◽  
Boris Kotchoubey
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Individual Differences ◽  
High Performance ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Memory Performance ◽  
Two Dimensions ◽  
Oscillatory Activity ◽  
Theta Power ◽  
Low Performance ◽  
Oscillatory Brain Activity

AbstractBackgroundThe study investigates oscillatory brain activity during working memory (WM) tasks. The tasks employed varied in two dimensions. First, they differed in complexity from average to highly demanding. Second, we used two types of tasks, which required either only retention of stimulus set or retention and manipulation of the content. We expected to reveal EEG correlates of temporary storage and central executive components of WM and to assess their contribution to individual differences.ResultsGenerally, as compared with the retention condition, manipulation of stimuli in WM was associated with distributed suppression of alpha1 activity and with the increase of the midline theta activity. Load and task dependent decrement of beta1 power was found during task performance. Beta2 power increased with the increasing WM load and did not significantly depend on the type of the task.At the level of individual differences, we found that the high performance (HP) group was characterized by higher alpha rhythm power. The HP group demonstrated task-related increment of theta power in the left anterior area and a gradual increase of theta power at midline area. In contrast, the low performance (LP) group exhibited a drop of theta power in the most challenging condition. HP group was also characterized by stronger desynchronization of beta1 rhythm over the left posterior area in the manipulation condition. In this condition, beta2 power increased in the HP group over anterior areas, but in the LP group over posterior areas.ConclusionsWM performance is accompanied by changes in EEG in a broad frequency range from theta to higher beta bands. The most pronounced differences in oscillatory activity between individuals with high and low WM performance can be observed in the most challenging WM task.

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