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Li J, Cao D, Yu S, Wang H, Imbach L, Stieglitz L, Sarnthein J, Jiang T. Theta-Alpha Connectivity in the Hippocampal-Entorhinal Circuit Predicts Working Memory Load. J Neurosci 2024; 44:e0398232023. [PMID: 38050110 PMCID: PMC10860618 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.0398-23.2023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/05/2023] [Revised: 11/09/2023] [Accepted: 11/10/2023] [Indexed: 12/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Working memory (WM) maintenance relies on multiple brain regions and inter-regional communications. The hippocampus and entorhinal cortex (EC) are thought to support this operation. Besides, EC is the main gateway for information between the hippocampus and neocortex. However, the circuit-level mechanism of this interaction during WM maintenance remains unclear in humans. To address these questions, we recorded the intracranial electroencephalography from the hippocampus and EC while patients (N = 13, six females) performed WM tasks. We found that WM maintenance was accompanied by enhanced theta/alpha band (2-12 Hz) phase synchronization between the hippocampus to the EC. The Granger causality and phase slope index analyses consistently showed that WM maintenance was associated with theta/alpha band-coordinated unidirectional influence from the hippocampus to the EC. Besides, this unidirectional inter-regional communication increased with WM load and predicted WM load during memory maintenance. These findings demonstrate that WM maintenance in humans engages the hippocampal-entorhinal circuit, with the hippocampus influencing the EC in a load-dependent manner.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jin Li
- School of Psychology, Capital Normal University, Beijing, 100048, China
| | - Dan Cao
- Brainnetome Center, Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
| | - Shan Yu
- Brainnetome Center, Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
- School of Artificial Intelligence, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Haiyan Wang
- Brainnetome Center, Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
| | - Lukas Imbach
- Swiss Epilepsy Center, Klinik Lengg, Zurich, Switzerland
- Zurich Neuroscience Center, ETH and University of Zurich, Zurich 8057, Switzerland
| | - Lennart Stieglitz
- Department of Neurosurgery, University Hospital Zurich, University of Zurich, Zurich 8091, Switzerland
| | - Johannes Sarnthein
- Zurich Neuroscience Center, ETH and University of Zurich, Zurich 8057, Switzerland
- Department of Neurosurgery, University Hospital Zurich, University of Zurich, Zurich 8091, Switzerland
| | - Tianzi Jiang
- Brainnetome Center, Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
- School of Artificial Intelligence, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
- Research Center for Augmented Intelligence, Zhejiang Lab, Hangzhou 311100, China
- Xiaoxiang Institute for Brain Health and Yongzhou Central Hospital, Yongzhou 425000, Hunan Province, China
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