The different oscillation patterns of alpha band in the early and later stages of working memory maintenance.
A putative functional role for alpha oscillations in working memory remains controversial. However, recent evidence suggests that such oscillation may reflect distinct phases of working memory processing. The present study investigated alpha band (8-13Hz) activity during the maintenance stage of working memory using a modified Sternberg working memory task. Our results reveal that alpha power was concentrated primarily in the occipital cortex and was decreased during the early stage of maintenance (0-600ms), and subsequently increased during the later stage of maintenance (1000-1600ms). We suggest that reduced alpha power may be involved in focused attention during the working memory maintenance, whereas increased alpha power may reflect suppression of visual stimuli to facilitate internal processing related to the task. This interpretation is generally consistent with recent reports suggesting that variations in alpha power are associated with the representation and processing of information in the discrete time intervals during the working memory maintenance.
The department of military psychology, College of Psychology of the Third Military Medical University, Chongqing, China.
Yuanjun
Y
Xie
The Faculty of Bioscience Engineering of the Third Military Medical University, Chongqing, China.
Zhengquan
Z
Feng
The department of military psychology, College of Psychology of the Third Military Medical University, Chongqing, China.
Yuanyuan
Y
Xu
The department of military psychology, College of Psychology of the Third Military Medical University, Chongqing, China.
Chen
C
Bian
The department of military psychology, College of Psychology of the Third Military Medical University, Chongqing, China. Electronic address: limin52267@tmmu.edu.cn.
Min
M
Li
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000513:Alpha Rhythm; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008570:Memory, Short-Term; D011939:Mental Recall; D010364:Pattern Recognition, Visual; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D011930:Reaction Time; D055815:Young Adult
Alpha band; Maintenance; Neural oscillation; Time course; Working memory