title: Gamma and Beta Bursts Underlie Working Memory.
abstract: Working memory is thought to result from sustained neuron spiking. However, computational models suggest complex dynamics with discrete oscillatory bursts. We analyzed local field potential (LFP) and spiking from the prefrontal cortex (PFC) of monkeys performing a working memory task. There were brief bursts of narrow-band gamma oscillations (45-100 Hz), varied in time and frequency, accompanying encoding and re-activation of sensory information. They appeared at a minority of recording sites associated with spiking reflecting the to-be-remembered items. Beta oscillations (20-35 Hz) also occurred in brief, variable bursts but reflected a default state interrupted by encoding and decoding. Only activity of neurons reflecting encoding/decoding correlated with changes in gamma burst rate. Thus, gamma bursts could gate access to, and prevent sensory interference with, working memory. This supports the hypothesis that working memory is manifested by discrete oscillatory dynamics and spiking, not sustained activity.
authors.affiliation: The Picower Institute for Learning & Memory and Department of Brain & Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 43 Vassar Street, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
authors.forename: Mikael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lundqvist
authors.affiliation: The Picower Institute for Learning & Memory and Department of Brain & Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 43 Vassar Street, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.|Animal Physiology, Institute for Neurobiology, Eberhard Karls University, Tübingen, Germany.
authors.forename: Jonas
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Rose
authors.affiliation: Computational Brain Science Lab, Dept. Comp. Sci. & Tech, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Pawel
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Herman
authors.affiliation: The Picower Institute for Learning & Memory and Department of Brain & Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 43 Vassar Street, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
authors.forename: Scott L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Brincat
authors.affiliation: The Picower Institute for Learning & Memory and Department of Brain & Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 43 Vassar Street, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.|Princeton Neuroscience Institute and Department of Psychology, Princeton University, Princeton, 08544, USA.
authors.forename: Timothy J
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Buschman
authors.affiliation: The Picower Institute for Learning & Memory and Department of Brain & Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 43 Vassar Street, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
authors.forename: Earl K
authors.initials: EK
authors.lastname: Miller
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001611:Beta Rhythm / Q000502:physiology*; D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology; D004569:Electroencephalography; D065818:Gamma Rhythm / Q000502:physiology*; D008252:Macaca fascicularis; D008253:Macaca mulatta; D008570:Memory, Short-Term / Q000502:physiology*; D009474:Neurons / Q000502:physiology*; D017397:Prefrontal Cortex / Q000502:physiology*; D013647:Task Performance and Analysis