Memory entrainment by visually evoked theta-gamma coupling

Abstract

The wake human brain constantly encodes novel information and integrates them into existing neuronal representations. It is posited that the formation of new memory traces is orchestrated by the synchronization of neuronal activity in the theta rhythm (3-8 Hz), theta coupled gamma activity (40-120 Hz), and decreases in the alpha rhythm (8-12 Hz). Critically, given the correlative nature of neurophysiological recordings, the functional relevance of oscillatory processes is not well understood. Here, we experimentally enhanced memory formation processes by a rhythmic visual stimulation at an individual theta frequency, in contrast to the stimulation at an individual alpha frequency. This memory entrainment effect was not explained by theta power per se, but was driven by a visually evoked theta-gamma coupling pattern. This underlines the functional role of the theta rhythm and the theta-gamma neuronal code in human episodic memory. The entrainment of mnemonic network mechanisms by a visual stimulation technique provides a proof of concept that visual pacemakers can entrain complex cognitive processes in the wake human brain.