Prediction of behavioral performance by alpha-band phase synchronization in working memory

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Neuroscience
• Neuroscience
• Neuroimaging

Background:

• Working memory (WM) is crucial for temporary information storage and processing.
• Understanding the neural mechanisms of WM, particularly functional connectivity, is key to explaining behavioral performance.
• Phase synchronization in specific frequency bands is increasingly recognized as a marker of neural communication.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate functional connectivity during working memory using phase synchronization.
• To explore the relationship between phase synchronization and behavioral accuracy in a memory-guided saccade task.
• To determine if connectivity patterns differ based on spatial information demands.

Main Methods:

• Recorded EEG and eye-tracking data from 17 healthy participants during a memory-guided saccade (MGS) task.
• Quantified memory performance using saccade error.
• Calculated functional connectivity via Phase Locking Value (PLV) in the alpha frequency band (8-12 Hz).

Main Results:

• Phase Locking Value (PLV) showed a significant negative correlation with saccade error, indicating better memory performance with higher connectivity.
• During the WM maintenance period, PLV between frontal and visual areas was significantly higher in trials with low saccade error compared to high saccade error trials.
• A significant difference in PLV was observed between near and far spatial conditions during the delay period.

Conclusions:

• Phase synchronization, specifically PLV in the alpha band, serves as a reliable predictor of working memory behavioral performance.
• Connectivity patterns between frontal and visual areas during memory maintenance reflect the precision of spatial information coding in WM.
• These findings highlight the role of neural synchrony in the functional organization of working memory and spatial representation.