Rhythms of human attention and memory: An embedded process perspective

It remains a dogma in cognitive neuroscience to separate human attention and memory into distinct modules and processes. Here we propose that brain rhythms reflect the embedded nature of these processes in the human brain, as evident from their shared neural signatures: gamma oscillations (30–90 Hz)...

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Published in:Frontiers in human neuroscience Vol. 16; p. 905837
Main Authors: Köster, Moritz, Gruber, Thomas
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Switzerland Frontiers Research Foundation 05.10.2022
Frontiers Media S.A
Subjects:
alpha oscillations
Attention
Automation
Behavior
Brain
brain rhythms
Cognition & reasoning
Cognitive ability
embedded-process model
Experimental psychology
human cognition
Human Neuroscience
Information processing
Memory
Nervous system
Neural coding
Neural networks
Oscillations
Pacemakers
Rhythm
Sensory integration
theta-gamma coupling
theta-gamma coupling
embedded-process model
brain rhythms
human cognition
alpha oscillations
ISSN:1662-5161, 1662-5161
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:It remains a dogma in cognitive neuroscience to separate human attention and memory into distinct modules and processes. Here we propose that brain rhythms reflect the embedded nature of these processes in the human brain, as evident from their shared neural signatures: gamma oscillations (30–90 Hz) reflect sensory information processing and activated neural representations (memory items). The theta rhythm (3–8 Hz) is a pacemaker of explicit control processes (central executive), structuring neural information processing, bit by bit, as reflected in the theta-gamma code. By representing memory items in a sequential and time-compressed manner the theta-gamma code is hypothesized to solve key problems of neural computation: (1) attentional sampling (integrating and segregating information processing), (2) mnemonic updating (implementing Hebbian learning), and (3) predictive coding (advancing information processing ahead of the real time to guide behavior). In this framework, reduced alpha oscillations (8–14 Hz) reflect activated semantic networks, involved in both explicit and implicit mnemonic processes. Linking recent theoretical accounts and empirical insights on neural rhythms to the embedded-process model advances our understanding of the integrated nature of attention and memory – as the bedrock of human cognition.
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Edited by: Vincenzo Romei, University of Bologna, Italy
Reviewed by: Anders Lansner, Stockholm University, Sweden; Yuchen Zhou, Yale University, United States
This article was submitted to Cognitive Neuroscience, a section of the journal Frontiers in Human Neuroscience
ISSN:1662-5161
1662-5161
DOI:10.3389/fnhum.2022.905837