Study reveals how brain waves control working memory
We have different types of memory or memory systems. These memories are autonomous neural networks that, in turn, are interconnected. But our neural system does not have unlimited storage capacity and it is also dynamic; in such a way that most of our memories blur or change over time.
When it is stated that we have different types of memory, what is meant is that the neural system on which our memory depends on ourselves (our biography) is different from the neural system related to learning mathematics and the one involved in language acquisition, for example.
Among the different types of memory is working memory, which allows us to carry out basic cognitive activities, such as understanding, reasoning or problem solving; a type of memory that we continually use in our daily lives to store, process, rearrange, and retrieve information.
The study on working memory?
On the other hand, each neuron in our brain produces its own electrical signals. These combined signals generate oscillations known as brain waves, which vary in frequency.
Well, a team of neuroscientists from MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) has discovered that in memory tasks that require information to be stored in working memory for short periods of time, the brain uses beta waves (brain waves of low frequency) to consciously switch between different parts of that information. The research supports the hypothesis the researchers had that beta rhythms act as a gate that determines when information in working memory is read or erased so that we can think of something else. "The beta rhythm acts by controlling when to express the information stored in working or working memory, also allowing it to influence behavior," explains Mikael Lundqvist, from the Picower Institute for Learning and Memory at MIT and lead author of the study. to the professor of Neuroscience of the same Institute, Earl Miller.
In 2016, Miller and Lundqvist discovered that gamma rhythms are associated with the encoding and retrieval of sensory information. They also found that when gamma rates go up, beta rates go down, and vice versa. Previous work in his lab had shown that beta rhythms are associated with “top-down” information, such as what the current goal is, how to achieve it, and what the task rules are. This evidence led them to theorize that beta rhythms act as a control mechanism that determines which parts of the information can be read from working memory; brain function that allows you to control conscious thinking. “Working memory is the sketchbook of consciousness, and it is under our control. We choose what to think, "says Miller. “We choose when to erase the working memory and forget some things. We can keep the information in mind and wait to make a decision until we have more information. " "The interaction between beta and gamma acts exactly as you would expect a volitional control mechanism to act," says Miller. "Beta acts as a signal that opens access to working memory, clears working memory and can act as a switch to move from one thought to another."
A new model
This study supposes a new model on working memory: previous models, to explain it, proposed that information is retained in the mind by constant neuronal firing.
“When we keep things in working memory (that is, when we have something in mind), we have the feeling that they are stable, like a light bulb that we have turned on to represent some thought. Neuroscientists have long thought this must mean that the way the brain represents these thoughts is through constant activity. This study shows that this is not the case, but rather that our memories flicker, explains Tim Buschman, assistant professor of psychology at Princeton University.
In a recent paper published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Miller's team also reported that beta waves are produced by deep layers of the prefrontal cortex, and gamma rhythms are produced by surface layers, which process sensory information. They also found that beta waves controlled the interaction of the two types of rhythms.
Researchers are now studying whether these types of rhythms control other brain functions, such as attention. "Finally, we would like to see how these rhythms explain the limited capacity of working memory: why we can only take into account a few thoughts simultaneously, and what happens when the capacity is exceeded," says Miller. "We must have a mechanism that compensates for the fact that we overload our working memory and make decisions about what things are more important than others."
The research has been funded by the National Institute of Mental Health, the Office of Naval Research, and the Picower JFDP Grant.
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