Alpha phase coupling reflects object recognition

Oscillatory mechanisms of process binding in memory

“…In Freunberger et al (2008a), we found larger theta power and stronger phase synchronization for objects compared to controls during a comparatively late time window after the presentation of the L2-item. During the presentation of the L4-item (when the item is fully recognized) the theta effect reverses which means that objects now show reduced theta amplitudes and phase-coherence when compared with controls.…”

“…In a study by Freunberger et al (2008a) we studied upper alpha phase synchronization during access to semantic LTM. A pool of 150 pictures of familiar objects was used for the task.…”

“…2B), but with the important difference that theta synchronization appeared in a much later time window (t6) during recognition. In the early time window (t4), around 200 ms poststimulus (with respect to L2-items), the difference between objects and control items was significant for Freunberger et al (2008a). Each image was presented for 1 s. Subjects had to indicate -by pressing a respective button -whether they recognized an object or not.…”

Subliminal Semantic Priming Changes the Dynamic Causal Influence between the Left Frontal and Temporal Cortex

“…Previous studies have revealed that these frequency band activities play an important role in the formation of neural networks in various brain regions (Benchenane, Tiesinga, & Battaglia, 2011;Colgin, 2011;Freunberger, Klimesch, Griesmayr, Sauseng, & Gruber, 2008;Klimesch, Sauseng, & Hanslmayr, 2007). Recent studies have also confirmed that supraliminal semantic priming enhances the theta band activity and intertrial coherency in language regions, indicating that semantic priming has an effect on the synchronized activity between distinct regions (Salisbury & Taylor, 2012).…”

The Role of Local and Large-Scale Neuronal Synchronization in Human Cognition

“…Electro-and magnetoencephalography (EEG and MEG) can be acquired during cognitive tasks and yield millisecond-accurate electrophysiological signals from cortical sources. As an engineering or mathematical challenge, the estimation of synchronization per se is straightforward and synchronization among EEG or MEG sensors has indeed been observed in a number of studies addressing the neuronal correlates of sensory awareness (Melloni et al 2007;Rodriguez et al 1999), attention (Doesburg et al 2009), and WM (Freunberger et al 2008;Kitzbichler et al 2011;Sauseng et al 2005). Large-scale synchronization also characterizes higher-level cognitive operations such as mental arithmetic with numbers maintained in WM (Palva et al 2005a).…”