Memory matches evoke human gamma-responses

Abstract

Background: Human brain activity in the gamma frequency range have been shown to be a correlate of numerous cognitive functions like attention, perception and memory access. More specifically, gamma activity has been found to be enhanced when stimuli are stored in or match with short-term memory (STM). We tested the hypothesis that gamma activity is also evoked when stimuli match representations in long-term-memory (LTM). EEG was recorded from 13 subjects performing a choice reaction task. Visual stimuli were either known real-world objects with a memory representation or novel configurations never seen before. Results: All stimuli evoked an early gamma response which was maximal over occipital electrodes. This evoked gamma activity was significantly larger for items which matched memory templates. Conclusions: Therefore, we argue that gamma activity results from the feedback from memory into perception systems. This assumption seems to be true for STM as well as LTM. © 2004 Hermann et al, licensee BioMed Central Ltd.