Schedule of Events | Symposia

Anterior theta and posterior alpha oscillations in associative memory

Poster Session C - Sunday, March 30, 2025, 5:00 – 7:00 pm EDT, Back Bay Ballroom/Republic Ballroom

Tamari Shalamberidze¹ (shalambe@ualberta.ca), Yvonne Y. Chen², Kyle Nash¹, Jeremy B. Caplan¹; ¹University of Alberta, ²University of Pennsylvania

Higher anterior theta oscillations and lower posterior alpha oscillations are related to better memory performance (e.g., Klimesch, 1999). Chen (2017) found that anterior theta and posterior alpha oscillations distinguished correctly versus incorrectly remembered words in associative recognition. Moreover, theta but not alpha subsequent memory effects correlated with associative memory performance across participants. We replicated Chen’s (2017) findings and observed a significant anterior theta subsequent-memory effect, which correlated with associative memory performance across participants. However, no clear posterior alpha peak was evident in our memory-task analysis despite confirming eyes-closed alpha in resting-state conditions (Shalamberidze et al., in revision). The alpha activity that was present showed the opposite pattern, with less alpha activity during later-forgotten than later-remembered trials. Interestingly, the second experiment was run during the COVID-19 pandemic, shortly after EEG lab restrictions were lifted, though many other restrictions remained. Despite these changes in circumstances, the theta subsequent memory effect remained robust, whereas the alpha oscillation effects were inconsistent. Taken together, these findings suggest that, consistent with the literature, theta oscillations play a fundamental role in associative memory. In contrast, alpha oscillations appear less crucial for associative memory performance.

Topic Area: LONG-TERM MEMORY: Episodic