Cortico-ocular coupling in the service of episodic memory formation
Tzvetan Popov1, Tobias Staudigl2
1Methods of Plasticity Research, Department of Psychology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland; Department of Psychology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany.
None:
Encoding of visual information is a necessary requirement for most types of episodic memories. In search for a neural signature of memory formation, amplitude modulation of neural activity has been repeatedly shown to correlate with and suggested to be functionally involved in successful memory encoding. We here report a complementary view on why and how brain activity relates to memory, indicating a functional role of cortico-ocular interactions for episodic memory formation. Recording simultaneous magnetoencephalography and eye tracking in 35 human participants, we demonstrate that gaze variability and amplitude modulations of alpha/beta oscillations (10-20 Hz) in visual cortex covary and predict subsequent memory performance between and within participants. Amplitude variation during pre-stimulus baseline was associated with gaze direction variability, echoing the co-variation observed during scene encoding. We conclude that encoding of visual information engages unison coupling between oculomotor and visual areas in the service of memory formation.
Related Concept Videos
Eyewitness Memory
One such error is memory distortion, which occurs because human memory does not function...
Role of Hippocampus in Memory
Long-Term Memory
Long-term memory can be categorized into two primary types: explicit and implicit memory. Explicit memory, also known as declarative memory, involves the conscious recollection of information that we deliberately try to remember, recall, and articulate. This type of memory encompasses specific facts, events, and...
Role of Cerebellum and Prefrontal Cortex in Memory
Implicit Memories
One key aspect of implicit...
Storage


