Soroka, G., Idiart, M. and Villavicencio, A. orcid.org/0000-0002-3731-9168 (2024) Mechanistic role of alpha oscillations in a computational model of working memory. PLoS ONE, 19 (2). e0296217. ISSN 1932-6203
Abstract
Brain oscillations are believed to be involved in the different operations necessary to manipulate information during working memory tasks. We propose a mechanistic role for the observed inhibition effect of the alpha rhythm based on its interference with the theta rhythm. Using the Lisman-Idiart model for multi-item working memory, we show that the interaction between these two oscillations is capable of creating a long lasting destructive interference that prevents the cyclic reactivation of neuronal ensembles and, as a consequence, memory maintenance. Additionally, to ensure robustness we propose a modular version of the model and implement oscillations as traveling waves. Using this model, we show that the interactions between theta and gamma determine the allocation of multiple memories in distinct modules, while the interference between theta and alpha disrupts the maintenance of the information already stored in them. The effect of alpha in erasing or blocking storage is robust and seems fairly independent of frequency, as long as it stays within the alpha range. This model helps us to understand why the alpha and theta oscillations, which have close frequency bands, could have opposite roles in working memory.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Editors: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2024 Soroka et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. |
Keywords: | Brain; Neurons; Alpha Rhythm; Theta Rhythm; Memory, Short-Term |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Engineering (Sheffield) > Department of Computer Science (Sheffield) |
Funding Information: | Funder Grant number ENGINEERING AND PHYSICAL SCIENCE RESEARCH COUNCIL EP/T02450X/1 |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 21 Feb 2024 11:18 |
Last Modified: | 21 Feb 2024 17:20 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1371/journal.pone.0296217 |
Related URLs: | |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:209350 |
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