QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

HOME  |   SEARCH  |   ARCHIVE  |   SUBSCRIBE  |   CONTACT  |   HELP

The Journal of Neuroscience, March 21, 2007, 27(12):3244-3251; doi:10.1523/JNEUROSCI.5399-06.2007

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Submit an eLetter Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in Web of Science Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Web of Science (33) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Jokisch, D. Articles by Jensen, O. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Jokisch, D. Articles by Jensen, O. Pubmed/NCBI databases Medline Plus Health Information Memory

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Behavioral/Systems/Cognitive
Modulation of Gamma and Alpha Activity during a Working Memory Task Engaging the Dorsal or Ventral Stream

Daniel Jokisch and Ole Jensen

F. C. Donders Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging, NL-6500 HB Nijmegen, The Netherlands

Correspondence should be addressed to Dr. Daniel Jokisch, F. C. Donders Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging, Kapittelweg 29, NL-6525 EN Nijmegen, The Netherlands. Email: daniel.jokisch{at}fcdonders.ru.nl

Despite extensive experimental work in both animals and humans, the actual role of oscillatory brain activity for working memory maintenance remains elusive. Gamma band activity (30–100 Hz) has been hypothesized to reflect either the maintenance of neuronal representations or changing demands in attention. Regarding posterior alpha activity (8–13 Hz), it is under debate whether it reflects functional inhibition or neuronal processing required for the task. The aim of the present study was to further elucidate the role of oscillatory brain activity in humans using a working memory task engaging either the dorsal or ventral visual stream. We recorded brain activity using magnetoencephalography from subjects performing a delayed-match-to-sample task. Subjects were instructed to remember either the identity or the spatial orientation of shortly presented faces. The analysis revealed stronger alpha power around the parieto-occipital sulcus during retention of face identities (ventral stream) compared with the retention of face orientations (dorsal stream). In contrast, successful retention of face orientations was associated with an increase in gamma power in the occipital lobe relative to the face identity condition. We propose that gamma activity reflects the actual neuronal maintenance of visual representations, whereas the alpha increase is a result of functional inhibition.

Key words: oscillations; working memory; MEG; gamma; alpha; EEG

---

Received Dec. 14, 2006; revised Feb. 9, 2007; accepted Feb. 14, 2007.

Correspondence should be addressed to Dr. Daniel Jokisch, F. C. Donders Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging, Kapittelweg 29, NL-6525 EN Nijmegen, The Netherlands. Email: daniel.jokisch{at}fcdonders.ru.nl

This article has been cited by other articles:

				G. A. Ojemann, D. P. Corina, N. Corrigan, J. Schoenfield-McNeill, A. Poliakov, L. Zamora, and S. Zanos Neuronal correlates of functional magnetic resonance imaging in human temporal cortex Brain, September 22, 2009; (2009) awp227v1. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				T. Montez, S.-S. Poil, B. F. Jones, I. Manshanden, J. P. A. Verbunt, B. W. van Dijk, A. B. Brussaard, A. van Ooyen, C. J. Stam, P. Scheltens, et al. Altered temporal correlations in parietal alpha and prefrontal theta oscillations in early-stage Alzheimer disease PNAS, February 3, 2009; 106(5): 1614 - 1619. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				N. Axmacher, C. E. Elger, and J. Fell Working Memory-Related Hippocampal Deactivation Interferes with Long-Term Memory Formation J. Neurosci., January 28, 2009; 29(4): 1052 - 1060. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				P. J. Uhlhaas, C. Haenschel, D. Nikolic, and W. Singer The Role of Oscillations and Synchrony in Cortical Networks and Their Putative Relevance for the Pathophysiology of Schizophrenia Schizophr Bull, September 1, 2008; 34(5): 927 - 943. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J. Van Der Werf, O. Jensen, P. Fries, and W. P. Medendorp Gamma-Band Activity in Human Posterior Parietal Cortex Encodes the Motor Goal during Delayed Prosaccades and Antisaccades J. Neurosci., August 20, 2008; 28(34): 8397 - 8405. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J. A. Meltzer, H. P. Zaveri, I. I. Goncharova, M. M. Distasio, X. Papademetris, S. S. Spencer, D. D. Spencer, and R. T. Constable Effects of Working Memory Load on Oscillatory Power in Human Intracranial EEG Cereb Cortex, August 1, 2008; 18(8): 1843 - 1855. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				V. L. Towle, H.-A. Yoon, M. Castelle, J. C. Edgar, N. M. Biassou, D. M. Frim, J.-P. Spire, and M. H. Kohrman ECoG gamma activity during a language task: differentiating expressive and receptive speech areas Brain, August 1, 2008; 131(8): 2013 - 2027. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				A. Mazaheri and O. Jensen Asymmetric Amplitude Modulations of Brain Oscillations Generate Slow Evoked Responses J. Neurosci., July 30, 2008; 28(31): 7781 - 7787. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				V. Wyart and C. Tallon-Baudry Neural Dissociation between Visual Awareness and Spatial Attention J. Neurosci., March 5, 2008; 28(10): 2667 - 2679. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				H. van Dijk, J.-M. Schoffelen, R. Oostenveld, and O. Jensen Prestimulus Oscillatory Activity in the Alpha Band Predicts Visual Discrimination Ability J. Neurosci., February 20, 2008; 28(8): 1816 - 1823. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home  |   Search  |   Archive  |   Subscribe  |   Contact  |   Help