Alpha/beta power decreases during episodic memory formation predict the magnitude of alpha/beta power decreases during subsequent retrieval

B.J. Griffiths*, M.C. Martín-Buro, B.P. Staresina, S. Hanslmayr, Tobias Staudigl

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Episodic memory retrieval is characterised by the vivid reinstatement of information about a personally-experienced event. Growing evidence suggests that this reinstatement is supported by reductions in the spectral power of alpha/beta activity. Given that the amount of information that can be recalled depends on the amount of information that was originally encoded, information-based accounts of alpha/beta activity would suggest that retrieval-related alpha/beta power decreases similarly depend upon decreases in alpha/beta power during encoding. To test this hypothesis, seventeen human participants completed a sequence-learning task while undergoing concurrent MEG recordings. Regression-based analyses were then used to estimate how alpha/beta power decreases during encoding predicted alpha/beta power decreases during retrieval on a trial-by-trial basis. When subjecting these parameter estimates to group-level analysis, we find evidence to suggest that retrieval-related alpha/beta (7–15Hz) power decreases fluctuate as a function of encoding-related alpha/beta power decreases. These results suggest that retrieval-related alpha/beta power decreases are contingent on the decrease in alpha/beta power that arose during encoding. Subsequent analysis uncovered no evidence to suggest that these alpha/beta power decreases reflect stimulus identity, indicating that the contingency between encoding- and retrieval-related alpha/beta power reflects the reinstatement of a neurophysiological operation, rather than neural representation, during episodic memory retrieval.
Original languageEnglish
Article number107755
Number of pages10
JournalNeuropsychologia
Volume153
Early online date28 Jan 2021
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 12 Mar 2021

Keywords

  • Episodic memory
  • Neural oscillations
  • Memory formation
  • Memory retrieval

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Alpha/beta power decreases during episodic memory formation predict the magnitude of alpha/beta power decreases during subsequent retrieval'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this