Prefrontal lesions disrupt oscillatory signatures of spatiotemporal integration in working memory

Mohsen Parto Dezfouli; Saeideh Davoudi; Robert T Knight; Mohammad Reza Daliri; Elizabeth L Johnson

doi:10.1016/j.cortex.2021.01.016

Prefrontal lesions disrupt oscillatory signatures of spatiotemporal integration in working memory

Cortex. 2021 May:138:113-126. doi: 10.1016/j.cortex.2021.01.016. Epub 2021 Feb 12.

Authors

Mohsen Parto Dezfouli¹, Saeideh Davoudi², Robert T Knight³, Mohammad Reza Daliri⁴, Elizabeth L Johnson⁵

Affiliations

¹ School of Cognitive Sciences (SCS), Institute for Research in Fundamental Sciences (IPM), Tehran, Iran; Biomedical Engineering Department, School of Electrical Engineering, Iran University of Science and Technology (IUST), Tehran, Iran. Electronic address: moh3nparto@ipm.ir.
² Biomedical Engineering Department, School of Electrical Engineering, Iran University of Science and Technology (IUST), Tehran, Iran.
³ Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA; Department of Psychology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA.
⁴ School of Cognitive Sciences (SCS), Institute for Research in Fundamental Sciences (IPM), Tehran, Iran; Biomedical Engineering Department, School of Electrical Engineering, Iran University of Science and Technology (IUST), Tehran, Iran. Electronic address: daliri@iust.ac.ir.
⁵ Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA; Life-Span Cognitive Neuroscience Program, Institute of Gerontology, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, USA. Electronic address: eljohnson@berkeley.edu.

Abstract

How does the human brain integrate spatial and temporal information into unified mnemonic representations? Building on classic theories of feature binding, we first define the oscillatory signatures of integrating 'where' and 'when' information in working memory (WM) and then investigate the role of prefrontal cortex (PFC) in spatiotemporal integration. Fourteen individuals with lateral PFC damage and 20 healthy controls completed a visuospatial WM task while electroencephalography (EEG) was recorded. On each trial, two shapes were presented sequentially in a top/bottom spatial orientation. We defined EEG signatures of spatiotemporal integration by comparing the maintenance of two possible where-when configurations: the first shape presented on top and the reverse. Frontal delta-theta (δθ; 2-7 Hz) activity, frontal-posterior δθ functional connectivity, lateral posterior event-related potentials, and mesial posterior alpha phase-to-gamma amplitude coupling dissociated the two configurations in controls. WM performance and frontal and mesial posterior signatures of spatiotemporal integration were diminished in PFC lesion patients, whereas lateral posterior signatures were intact. These findings reveal both PFC-dependent and independent substrates of spatiotemporal integration and link optimal performance to PFC.

Keywords: Cross-frequency coupling; Functional connectivity; Oscillations; Prefrontal cortex (PFC); Spatiotemporal integration; Working memory (WM).

Publication types

Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

Brain Mapping
Case-Control Studies
Electroencephalography*
Humans
Memory, Short-Term*
Prefrontal Cortex
Space Perception

Abstract

Publication types

MeSH terms

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