RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Prefrontal–Temporal Circuitry for Episodic Encoding and Subsequent Memory
JF The Journal of Neuroscience
JO J. Neurosci.
FD Society for Neuroscience
SP 6173
OP 6180
DO 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.20-16-06173.2000
VO 20
IS 16
A1 Brenda A. Kirchhoff
A1 Anthony D. Wagner
A1 Anat Maril
A1 Chantal E. Stern
YR 2000
UL http://www.jneurosci.org/content/20/16/6173.abstract
AB Humans encounter and form memories for multiple types of experiences that differ in content, novelty, and memorability. Critical for understanding memory is determining (1) how the brain supports the encoding of events with differing content and (2) whether neural regions that are sensitive to novelty also influence whether stimuli will be subsequently remembered. This event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study crossed content (picture/word), novelty (novel/repeated), and subsequent memory (remembered/forgotten) to examine prefrontal and temporal lobe contributions to encoding. Results revealed three patterns of encoding-related activation in anatomically connected inferior prefrontal and lateral temporal structures that appeared to vary depending on whether visuospatial/visuo-object, phonological/lexical, or semantic attributes were processed. Event content also modulated medial temporal lobe activity; word encoding predominately activated the left hemisphere, whereas picture encoding activated both hemispheres. Critically, in prefrontal and temporal regions that were modulated by novelty, the magnitude of encoding activation also predicted whether an event would be subsequently remembered. These results suggest that (1) regions that demonstrate a sensitivity to novelty may actively support encoding processes that impact subsequent explicit memory and (2) multiple content-dependent prefrontal–temporal circuits support event encoding. The similarities between prefrontal and lateral temporal encoding responses raise the possibility that prefrontal modulation of posterior cortical representations is central to encoding.