Alpha oscillatory power decreases are associated with better memory for higher valued information. Issue 2 (3rd April 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Forner-Phillips, Nicole A.; Brown, Jessica E.; Silck, Briana M.; Ross, Robert S.
• Is Part Of: Cognitive neuroscience. Volume 13:Issue 2(2022)
• Page Start: 87
• Page End: 98
• Publication Date: 2022-04-03
• Subjects: Value-based memory -- alpha oscillations -- strategic encoding -- attention -- beta oscillations; Cognitive neuroscience -- Periodicals; 612.8205
• DOI: 10.1080/17588928.2021.1963694
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1758-8928

Abstract

ABSTRACT: Items associated with high value are often better remembered. Value may increase attention toward item in context associations. Alpha oscillations (8–13 Hz) are thought to underlie attention and their observation may reveal the role attention plays in value-based memory. In the current study, EEG is used to record brain activity while participants (n = 30) completed a source recognition memory task where items were associated with either high or low value backgrounds to determine whether greater attentional resources are deployed when encoding high value information. Participants demonstrated better memory for objects associated with high value backgrounds. Alpha oscillatory power in occipital/temporal brain regions exhibited greater desynchronization when encoding objects associated with high value that were later successfully recalled compared to those associated with low value. In addition, beta oscillatory power in midfrontal brain regions exhibited greater desynchronization during successful recall of high value objects compared to low value objects. Together these results suggest that more attentional resources are used to encode information that is associated with high value, which increases the likelihood of later successful memory recall.