RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 A Theta Band Network Involving Prefrontal Cortex Unique to Human Episodic Memory
JF bioRxiv
FD Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
SP 140251
DO 10.1101/140251
A1 James J Young
A1 Peter H Rudebeck
A1 Lara V Marcuse
A1 Madeline C Fields
A1 Ji Yeoun Yoo
A1 Fedor Panov
A1 Saadi Ghatan
A1 Arash Fazl
A1 Sarah Mandelbaum
A1 Mark G Baxter
YR 2017
UL http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2017/05/19/140251.abstract
AB Episodic memory, everyday memory for events, is fundamental to our lives. We tested patients undergoing intracranial electroencephalography (intracranial EEG) monitoring for the localization of medically-refractory epilepsy on a well-characterized paradigm that requires episodic memory. Here we report that an anatomically diffuse network characterized by thetaband (4-7 Hz) coherence is activated at the time of a choice that requires episodic memory. This distinct network pattern of oscillatory activity is absent in situations that do not require episodic memory. The episodic network we identified spans prefrontal and temporal lobes and coherence between these areas was greatest during memory encoding. Our data provide novel empirical evidence for a set of brain areas that supports episodic memory in humans.Significance Statement Synchronous oscillations of electrical fields are thought to support brain processes such as language, movement, memory and learning. However, little is known about which types of synchronous oscillations are needed for which process. We performed invasive recordings of electrical activity in patients undergoing surgical management for epilepsy while they perform different types of memory tasks. We found synchronous oscillations in the theta band (4-7 Hz) correlate with performance in an episodic memory. This pattern of oscillations activates a distinct network of brain regions from a task that does not require episodic memory. This finding advances our understanding of the brain systems that support each process.