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Miniature of Noninvasive Memory Modulation Via Targeted Theta TACS Entrainment of the Frontoparietal Network
Noninvasive Memory Modulation Via Targeted Theta TACS Entrainment of the Frontoparietal Network
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  • Restriction End Date: 2026-06-01

    Date: 2021-01-01

    Creator: Brandon S Lee

    Access: Access restricted to the Bowdoin Community



      Increases in Theta Oscillatory Activity During Episodic Memory Retrieval Following Mindfulness Meditation Training

      Date: 2019-09-04

      Creator: Erika Nyhus, William Andrew Engel, Tomas Donatelli Pitfield, Isabella Marie Wang Vakkur

      Access: Open access

      Mindfulness meditation has been shown to improve episodic memory and increase theta oscillations which are known to play a role in episodic memory retrieval. The present study examined the effect of mindfulness meditation on episodic memory retrieval and theta oscillations. Using a longitudinal design, subjects in the mindfulness meditation experimental group who underwent 4 weeks of mindfulness meditation training and practice were compared to a waitlist control group. During the pre-training and post-training experimental sessions, subjects completed the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ) and studied adjectives and either imagined a scene (Place Task) or judged its pleasantness (Pleasant Task). During the recognition test, subjects decided which task was performed with each word (“Old Place Task” or “Old Pleasant Task”) or “New.” FFMQ scores and source discrimination were greater post-training than pre-training in the mindfulness meditation experimental group. Electroencephalography (EEG) results revealed that for the mindfulness meditation experimental group theta power was greater post-training than pre-training in right frontal and left parietal channels and changes in FFMQ scores correlated with changes in theta oscillations in right frontal channels (n = 20). The present results suggest that mindfulness meditation increases source memory retrieval and theta oscillations in a fronto-parietal network.


      Miniature of Directed Information Flow During Episodic Memory Retrieval at Theta Frequency
      Directed Information Flow During Episodic Memory Retrieval at Theta Frequency
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      • Restriction End Date: 2027-06-01

        Date: 2022-01-01

        Creator: Patrick F. Bloniasz

        Access: Access restricted to the Bowdoin Community



          Alpha modulation in younger and older adults during distracted encoding

          Date: 2022-06-01

          Creator: Syanah C. Wynn, Erika Nyhus, Ole Jensen

          Access: Open access

          To successfully encode information into long-term memory, we need top-down control to focus our attention on target stimuli. This attentional focus is achieved by the modulation of sensory neuronal excitability through alpha power. Failure to modulate alpha power and to inhibit distracting information has been reported in older adults during attention and working memory tasks. Given that alpha power during encoding can predict subsequent memory performance, aberrant oscillatory modulations might play a role in age-related memory deficits. However, it is unknown whether there are age-related differences in memory performance or alpha modulation when encoding targets with distraction. Here we show that both older and younger adults are able to encode targets paired with distractors and that the level of alpha power modulation during encoding predicted recognition success. Even though older adults showed signs of higher distractibility, this did not harm their episodic memory for target information. Also, we demonstrate that older adults only modulated alpha power during high distraction, both by enhancing target processing and inhibiting distractor processing. These results indicate that both younger and older adults are able to employ the same inhibitory control mechanisms successfully, but that older adults fail to call upon these when distraction is minimal. The findings of this study give us more insight into the mechanisms involved in memory encoding across the lifespan. © 2020 Federation of European Neuroscience Societies and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.