Gamma Oscillations Distinguish True From False Memories

Authors: Sederberg, Per B.¹; Schulze-Bonhage, Andreas²; Madsen, Joseph R.³; Bromfield, Edward B.⁴; Litt, Brian¹; Brandt, Armin²; Kahana, Michael J.¹

Source: Psychological Science, Volume 18, Number 11, November 2007 , pp. 927-932(6)

Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell

Buy & download fulltext article:

The full text article is not available for purchase.

The publisher only permits individual articles to be downloaded by subscribers.

Abstract:

To test whether distinct patterns of electrophysiological activity prior to a response can distinguish true from false memories, we analyzed intracranial electroencephalographic recordings while 52 patients undergoing treatment for epilepsy performed a verbal free-recall task. These analyses revealed that the same pattern of gamma-band (28-100 Hz) oscillatory activity that predicts successful memory formation at item encoding—increased gamma power in the hippocampus, prefrontal cortex, and left temporal lobe—reemerges at retrieval to distinguish correct from incorrect responses. The timing of these oscillatory effects suggests that self-cued memory retrieval begins in the hippocampus and then spreads to the cortex. Thus, retrieval of true, as compared with false, memories induces a distinct pattern of gamma oscillations, possibly reflecting recollection of contextual information associated with past experience.

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9280.2007.02003.x

Affiliations: 1: University of Pennsylvania; 2: University Hospital of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany; 3: Children's Hospital Boston, Boston, Massachusetts and 4: Brigham & Women's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts

Publication date: 2007-11-01