Power shifts track serial position and modulate encoding in human episodic memory

The first events in a series exert a powerful influence on cognition and behavior in both humans and animals. This is known as the law of primacy. Here, we analyze the neural correlates of primacy in humans by analyzing electrocorticographic recordings in 84 neurosurgical patients as they studied an...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Cerebral cortex (New York, N.Y. 1991) N.Y. 1991), 2014-02, Vol.24 (2), p.403-413
Main Authors: Serruya, Mijail D, Sederberg, Per B, Kahana, Michael J
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Brain - physiology
Brain - surgery
Brain Mapping
Child
Delta Rhythm
Electrodes, Implanted
Electroencephalography
Female
Humans
Male
Memory, Episodic
Middle Aged
Neuropsychological Tests
Prefrontal Cortex - physiology
Temporal Lobe - physiology
Theta Rhythm
Vocabulary
Young Adult
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Summary:The first events in a series exert a powerful influence on cognition and behavior in both humans and animals. This is known as the law of primacy. Here, we analyze the neural correlates of primacy in humans by analyzing electrocorticographic recordings in 84 neurosurgical patients as they studied and subsequently recalled lists of common words. We found that spectral power in the gamma frequency band (28-100 Hz) was elevated at the start of the list and gradually subsided, whereas lower frequency (2-8 Hz) delta and theta band power exhibited the opposite trend. This gradual shift in the power spectrum was found across a widespread network of brain regions. The degree to which the subsequent memory effect was modulated by list (serial) position was most pronounced in medial temporal lobe structures. These results suggest that globally increased gamma and decreased delta-theta spectral powers reflect a brain state that predisposes medial temporal lobe structures to enhance the encoding and maintenance of early list items.
ISSN:1047-3211
1460-2199
DOI:10.1093/cercor/bhs318