title: Incidental and intentional learning of verbal episodic material differentially modifies functional brain networks.
abstract: Learning- and memory-related processes are thought to result from dynamic interactions in large-scale brain networks that include lateral and mesial structures of the temporal lobes. We investigate the impact of incidental and intentional learning of verbal episodic material on functional brain networks that we derive from scalp-EEG recorded continuously from 33 subjects during a neuropsychological test schedule. Analyzing the networks' global statistical properties we observe that intentional but not incidental learning leads to a significantly increased clustering coefficient, and the average shortest path length remains unaffected. Moreover, network modifications correlate with subsequent recall performance: the more pronounced the modifications of the clustering coefficient, the higher the recall performance. Our findings provide novel insights into the relationship between topological aspects of functional brain networks and higher cognitive functions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Epileptology, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany ; Helmholtz Institute for Radiation and Nuclear Physics, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany ; Interdisciplinary Center for Complex Systems, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany.
authors.forename: Marie-Therese
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Kuhnert
authors.forename: Stephan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bialonski
authors.forename: Nina
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Noennig
authors.forename: Heinke
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Mai
authors.forename: Hermann
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hinrichs
authors.forename: Christoph
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Helmstaedter
authors.forename: Klaus
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Lehnertz
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D001931:Brain Mapping / Q000379:methods; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology; D004569:Electroencephalography / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008568:Memory / Q000502:physiology; D011939:Mental Recall / Q000502:physiology; D009415:Nerve Net / Q000502:physiology* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D014706:Verbal Learning / Q000502:physiology*