AANS Online Scientific Session: Stereotactic & Functional-Cross-frequency Interactions and Phase Coding in Piriform Cortex Support Human Working Memory: Intracranial EEG Study

Cross-frequency Interactions and Phase Coding in Piriform Cortex Support Human Working Memory: Intracranial EEG Study

Video Transcription

Video Summary

In this video, Andrew Yang, a resident in Neurosurgery at Penn, discusses their study on the mechanisms of working memory in humans. They explore the role of neural oscillations in determining working memory capacity. The study proposes that the interaction between two specific classes of oscillations, theta and gamma, determines the number of items that can be held in working memory. They conducted experiments using intracranial EEG on eight patients and found evidence of theta phase coding, where gamma activity occurs at distinct phases of the theta oscillation depending on the position of the item in the memory sequence. This suggests that theta phase coding is a mechanism that supports working memory for odor sequences. The study also indicates that working memory capacity may be influenced by neural dynamics during initial sensory perception.

Asset Subtitle

Andrew I. Yang, MD, MS

Keywords

Andrew Yang

Neurosurgery

working memory

neural oscillations

theta phase coding