ePoster

Alpha-band synchronization supports the integration of feature information in visual working memory

Hamed Haque, Sheng H Wang, Felix Siebenhühner, J. Matias Palva, Satu Palva
FENS Forum 2024(2024)
Messe Wien Exhibition & Congress Center, Vienna, Austria

Conference

FENS Forum 2024

Messe Wien Exhibition & Congress Center, Vienna, Austria

Resources

Authors & Affiliations

Hamed Haque, Sheng H Wang, Felix Siebenhühner, J. Matias Palva, Satu Palva

Abstract

Visual working memory (VWM) sustains information online for future usage as single features as well as coherent object representations. The proper functioning of VWM is dependent not only on the integration of individual visual features in our environment, but also on the inhibition of distractors or irrelevant features. It has, however, remained untested whether long-range synchronization of neuronal oscillations would mediate the integration of relevant features into coherent objects or reflect the inhibition of irrelevant features.We recorded concurrent magneto- and electroencephalography (M/EEG) from 20 healthy human participants during a delayed-match-to-sample VWM task in which the participants memorized different individual features (Shape, Color, or Location) or their conjunctions (Color-Location, or Shape-Color-Location) with 800 trials for each of the 5 conditions. We used a data-driven approach and estimated phase synchronization among 400 cortical parcels for the retention period activity from source-reconstructed M/EEG data for all frequencies between 3-120 Hz and for all conditions. Graph theory was then used to characterize the structures of the networks and to identify connections specific to the retention feature conjunctions compared to individual features.Preliminary results show that alpha-band phase-synchronization track the contents of VWM for both individual features and for feature conjunctions. Furthermore, corroborating the hypothesis that alpha-band oscillations support the perceptual binding of feature-specific neuronal assemblies, VWM for conjunctions was associated with stronger synchronization than for retention of the constituent features separately. These findings suggest that alpha synchronization reflects the contents of VWM and supports the integration of feature information in VWM.

Unique ID: fens-24/alpha-band-synchronization-supports-49234807