Explore the Functional Connectivity between Brain Regions during a Chemistry Working Memory Task

Abstract

Previous studies have rarely examined how temporal dynamic patterns, event-related coherence, and phase-locking are related to each other. This study assessed reaction-time-sorted spectral perturbation and event-related spectral perturbation in order to examine the temporal dynamic patterns in the frontal midline (F), central parietal (CP), and occipital (O) regions during a chemistry working memory task at theta, alpha, and beta frequencies. Furthermore, the functional connectivity between F-CP, CP-O, and F-O were assessed by component event-related coherence (ERCoh) and component phase-locking (PL) at different frequency bands. In addition, this study examined whether the temporal dynamic patterns are consistent with the functional connectivity patterns across different frequencies and time courses. Component ERCoh/PL measured the interactions between different independent components decomposed from the scalp EEG, mixtures of time courses of activities arising from different brain, and artifactual sources. The results indicate that the O and CP regions’ temporal dynamic patterns are similar to each other. Furthermore, pronounced component ERCoh/PL patterns were found to exist between the O and CP regions across each stimulus and probe presentation, in both theta and alpha frequencies. The consistent theta component ERCoh/PL between the F and O regions was found at the first stimulus and after probe presentation. These findings demonstrate that temporal dynamic patterns at different regions are in accordance with the functional connectivity patterns. Such coordinated and robust EEG temporal dynamics and component ERCoh/PL patterns suggest that these brain regions’ neurons work together both to induce similar event-related spectral perturbation and to synchronize or desynchronize simultaneously in order to swiftly accomplish a particular goal. The possible mechanisms for such distinct component phase-locking and coherence patterns were also further discussed.

The Dynamic Properties of a Brain Network During Spatial Working Memory Tasks in College Students With ADHD Traits

“…Some studies investigating functional connectivity and brain networks of working memory using EEG/MEG (magnetoencephalography) in healthy subjects observed the connectivity between frontotemporal, central-parietal, and occipital areas during working memory tasks ( Chou et al, 2015 ; Wianda and Ross, 2019 ), and small-world network characteristics with a high clustering coefficient and low characteristic path length. These results imply that the brain regions involved in processing information consecutively while performing working memory tasks function efficiently ( Shahabi et al, 2014 ; Dai et al, 2017 ).…”

A Comparison of Independent Event-Related Desynchronization Responses in Motor-Related Brain Areas to Movement Execution, Movement Imagery, and Movement Observation

“…Furthermore, if the temporal activity includes the brain EEG responses to more than one condition, it is possible to compare the evoked potentials or other EEG derivatives associated with the different conditions in the same EEG topography or, roughly, the same neural circuits. For example, Chou and colleagues compared the EEG power changes, phase-locking values, event-related coherences, and so forth evoked in the frontal midline, central parietal, and occipital brain areas of single subjects associated with different phases of the working memory process (i.e., visual processing, encoding, and retrieval) [ 21 ].…”

Creative Brains Show Reduced Mid Frontal Theta

“…During this period, the stimulus was removed from the screen, prompting attention to become internally oriented. It has been demonstrated that occipital-frontal functional connectivity measured in the theta range was associated with keeping (perceptual) information "in mind" [44][45][46] . Von Stein and Sarnthein 47 observed a relationship between increased long-range (frontal-posterior) theta synchronization and working-memory retention.…”

“…However, differences in alpha power have also been strongly linked to the amount of effort or attention that is allocated to the task at hand 60 . Indeed, some findings indicate that the difference between divergent and convergent thinking stems from a difference in task demands 46,65 . In the present study, we focused our analyses on mid frontal theta activity, however, when examining alpha power we did not observe a relation between creativity and alpha power fluctuations (see Figure 3).…”