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Spectrotemporal dynamics of the EEG during working memory encoding and maintenance predicts individual behavioral capacity
Author(s) -
Bashivan Pouya,
Bidelman Gavin M.,
Yeasin Mohammed
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
european journal of neuroscience
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.346
H-Index - 206
eISSN - 1460-9568
pISSN - 0953-816X
DOI - 10.1111/ejn.12749
Subject(s) - working memory , precuneus , encoding (memory) , electroencephalography , psychology , neuroscience , cuneus , fusiform gyrus , medial frontal gyrus , cognition
We investigated the effect of memory load on encoding and maintenance of information in working memory. Electroencephalography ( EEG ) signals were recorded while participants performed a modified Sternberg visual memory task. Independent component analysis ( ICA ) was used to factorise the EEG signals into distinct temporal activations to perform spectrotemporal analysis and localisation of source activities. We found ‘encoding’ and ‘maintenance’ operations were correlated with negative and positive changes in α‐band power, respectively. Transient activities were observed during encoding of information in the bilateral cuneus, precuneus, inferior parietal gyrus and fusiform gyrus, and a sustained activity in the inferior frontal gyrus. Strong correlations were also observed between changes in α‐power and behavioral performance during both encoding and maintenance. Furthermore, it was also found that individuals with higher working memory capacity experienced stronger neural oscillatory responses during the encoding of visual objects into working memory. Our results suggest an interplay between two distinct neural pathways and different spatiotemporal operations during the encoding and maintenance of information which predict individual differences in working memory capacity observed at the behavioral level.