Category-specific cortical activity precedes retrieval during memory search.
Here we describe a functional magnetic resonance imaging study of humans engaged in memory search during a free recall task. Patterns of cortical activity associated with the study of three categories of pictures (faces, locations, and objects) were identified by a pattern-classification algorithm. The algorithm was used to track the reappearance of these activity patterns during the recall period. The reappearance of a given category's activity pattern correlates with verbal recalls made from that category and precedes the recall event by several seconds. This result is consistent with the hypothesis that category-specific activity is cueing the memory system to retrieve studied items.
Polyn
Sean M
SM
Department of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA. polyn@psych.upenn.edu
Natu
Vaidehi S
VS
Cohen
Jonathan D
JD
Norman
Kenneth A
KA
D000328:Adult; D000465:Algorithms; D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D005260:Female; D005556:Form Perception / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008568:Memory / Q000502:physiology*; D011939:Mental Recall / Q000502:physiology; D013028:Space Perception / Q000502:physiology