Oscillatory Contributions to Working Memory and Attention

NCT03787134 | Completed Results

• 5 other identifiers: 2016-0500A538900SMPH\PSYCHIATRY\PSYCHIATRY2R01MH095984-06Protocol Version 8/11/2022
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 184
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

The objectives are articulated in the proposal's specific aims: Aim 1: To test the hypothesis that the cognitive control of unattended memory items (UMI) is implemented by the same frontoparietal mechanisms that control spatial and nonspatial attention. Aim 2: To test the hypothesis that the selection of visual stimuli, whether from the environment or from WM, is accomplished, in part, by the hijacking of low-frequency oscillatory dynamics that are fundamental to the waking-state physiology of the corticothalamic circuitry of the visual system. Aim 3: To test the hypothesis that the function of context binding contributes to delay-period activity of the posterior parietal cortex (PPC).

Conditions

Young Adults

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (27)

• Behavioral Accuracy: Sub-study 1

  Mean percentage of correct recognition responses - indicates the percentage of trials, on average, participants correctly identified a test stimulus as a match or non-match to an item in working memory. The primary task completed by this group was a dual-serial recognition (DSR) task which involved two responses on each trial. The secondary (control) task was a single recognition (SR) task which involved one response on each trial. The two tasks were interleaved, so all participants completed them in succession throughout the measured time frame.

  3 hours

• Behavioral Accuracy: Sub-study 2

  Mean percentage of correct recognition responses - indicates the percentage of trials, on average, participants correctly identified a test stimulus as a match or non-match to an item in working memory. The primary task completed by this group of participants was a two-back recognition task, in which participants indicated whether the current stimulus was a match or non-match to the stimulus shown two items ago (completed during the first half of the measured time frame); the second task was a delayed recognition task in which participants indicated whether the current stimulus was a match or non-match to a stimulus shown 1750 ms prior (completed during the second half of the measured time frame).

  3 hours

• Behavioral Accuracy: Sub-study 3

  Mean percentage of correct recognition responses - indicates the percentage of trials, on average, participants correctly identified a test stimulus as a match or non-match to an item in working memory. The primary task results were based on validly cued trials in which the cue indicated the to-be-tested location, whereas the second task results were based on the invalidly cued trials in which the cue indicated a location that was not the to-be-tested location. These task conditions were intermixed throughout the measured time frame.

  3 hours

• Behavioral Accuracy: Sub-study 5

  Mean percentage of correct recognition responses - indicates the percentage of trials, on average, participants correctly identified a test stimulus as a match or non-match to an item in working memory. The primary task results were based on the accuracy of discrimination on 'congruent' trials in which the working memory item and the perceptual discrimination stimulus were identical in orientation; the secondary task results were based on the accuracy of discrimination on 'incongruent' trials. The two task types were intermixed throughout the measured time frame.

  3 hours

• Behavioral Accuracy: Sub-study 7

  Mean error (in degrees). On each trial, participants must memorize three object orientations (e.g. 10, 40, and 75 degrees) that are shown at different locations in succession on a computer screen. Several seconds later, the participant is given a cue/indicator about which of the orientations they will need to recall (i.e., reproduce) during the trial's test phase. After another brief delay, a line is shown on the screen and the participant must rotate it with the mouse to match the orientation in memory. This occurred in two task conditions: the 'overlap' condition in which two memory items were shown at the same location on the screen; and the 'non-overlap' condition, in which all items were presented at different locations on the screen. The 'overlap' task was carried out in the first half of the measured time frame; the 'non-overlap' task was carried out in the second half. Large errors (big differences between the reported and displayed orientation) indicate worse memory accuracy.

  4 hours

• Reaction Time: Sub-study 1

  The time, measured in milliseconds, that it took a subject to lock in their response via keyboard button press on each trial. The primary task completed by this group was a dual-serial recognition (DSR) task which involved two responses on each trial. The secondary (control) task was a single recognition (SR) task which involved one response on each trial. The two tasks were interleaved, so all participants completed them in succession throughout the measured time frame.

  3 hours

• Reaction Time: Sub-study 2

  The average time, measured in milliseconds, that it took a subject to lock in their response via mouse button click on each trial. The primary task completed by this group of participants was a two-back recognition task, in which participants indicated whether the current stimulus was a match or non-match to the stimulus shown two items ago (completed during the first half of the measured time frame); the second task was a delayed recognition task in which participants indicated whether the current stimulus was a match or non-match to a stimulus shown 1750 ms prior (completed during the second half of the measured time frame).

  3 hours

• Reaction Time: Sub-study 3

  The average time, measured in milliseconds, that it took a subject to lock in their response via keyboard button press on each trial. The primary task results were based on validly cued trials in which the cue indicated the to-be-tested location, whereas the second task results were based on the invalidly cued trials in which the cue indicated a location that was not the to-be-tested location. These task conditions were intermixed throughout the measured time frame.

  3 hours

• Reaction Time: Sub-study 5

  The average time, measured in milliseconds, that it took a subject to lock in their response via keyboard button press on each trial. The primary task results were based on the accuracy of discrimination on 'congruent' trials in which the working memory item and the perceptual discrimination stimulus were identical in orientation; the secondary task results were based on the accuracy of discrimination on 'incongruent' trials. The two task types were intermixed throughout the measured time frame.

  3 hours

• Reaction Time: Sub-study 6

  The average time, measured in milliseconds, that it took a subject to lock in their response via keyboard button press on each trial. The primary task was a 'set size 2' task in which participants had to maintain two items in working memory; the secondary task was a 'set size 1' task in which participants maintained one item in working memory. These tasks were intermixed throughout the measured time frame.

  3 hours

• Multivariate Pattern Classification of EEG Data: Sub-study 1

  Multivariate pattern classification is a machine learning method that assesses the neural representation of stimulus information in electroencephalographic (EEG) signal (i.e., to "decode" the signal). The outcome measure is decoding performance. When a decoder performs well (here, greater than 0.5), the EEG signal contains information consistent with the representation of the stimulus at that point in the trial; when it performs poorly (here, less than or equal to 0.5), there is no evidence for stimulus representation at that time. Reported here is average classifier accuracy (expressed as area under the curve) in decoding a memory item's representation during the memory period for the different task conditions: when the item was cued or uncued and when transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) was delivered or not. The data used come from the full measured time frame.

  3 hours

• Multivariate Inverted Encoding Modeling (IEM) Reconstruction: Sub-study 2

  Each EEG electrode's signal was construed as a weighted sum of responses from six channels tuned to specific stimulus orientations in the study. Data from the delayed recognition task were regressed onto this basis set to obtain a weight matrix characterizing the contribution of each channel to each electrode's response. The weight matrix was then inverted to derive the reconstructed representation of stimulus orientation during the delay period of the primary 2-back task data. Reported is the group-level slope (in arbitrary units) of the reconstruction of the cued and uncued memory items during the delay period, serving as a memory strength index/score ranging from -1:+1. Larger slope magnitudes indicate stronger memory representations. Negative values imply that the memory representation was a modified ('flipped') version of the representation held when the stimulus was first presented; positive values indicate direct resemblance to when the stimulus was first presented.

  4 hours

• Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) Effects on EEG Data Component Strengths: Sub-study 1

  The spatially distributed phase coupling extraction (SPACE) decomposition method was used to identify discrete neural rhythms ('components') giving rise to the EEG signal. The strength of identified components at each time point (epoch) in the trial provides a measure of activity, ranging from 0 (absent/inactive) to a positive value (present/active). Strengths were used to address the question of whether single pulse TMS evokes new neural rhythms that weren't active before the pulse or modulates existing rhythms. If new rhythms are evoked, a greater percentage of trials with negligible (\~0) strengths prior to TMS that increase after TMS compared to trials without TMS should be observed. Reported are the percentage of trials with this pattern for the posterior beta, posterior alpha, and posterior theta identified components for trials with and without TMS and TMS. Data from the full session were used.

  3 hours

• Alpha Band Power as a Function of Location Relevance in Working Memory: Sub-study 3

  Neural activity is comprised of rhythmic activity and aperiodic activity. Alpha rhythmic activity plays important roles in supporting working memory performance and varies according to task demands. EEG data were decomposed into alpha periodic and aperiodic components in order to isolate the alpha frequency band power (8-14 Hz). Participants' task was to make judgments about memorized items shown above, below, left, and right of a central viewing point on the screen. To assess the effects of spatial memory cueing on decomposed alpha, electrodes that showed alpha modulation selective to the four memory locations were first identified. Then, the alpha power in those electrodes was compared as a function of whether the location was attended, unattended, or irrelevant on a particular trial. This was done for two epochs: during the memory delay (350 - 850 ms after sample) and target presentation (850 - 1350 ms after sample). Data from the full session was used for this analysis.

  4 hours

• The Amplitude of Contralateral Delay Activity (CDA): Sub-study 4

  The CDA is an event-related potential (ERP) derived from posterior electrodes that tracks the amount of information held in working memory, and may also be sensitive to context-binding demands. It becomes more negative with increasing memory load. The CDA was computed from the EEG by averaging the voltage across trials to generate signals that were contralateral or ipsilateral to the memory cue. The "difference wave" was computed by subtracting the ipsilateral signals from contralateral signals. The amplitude of the CDA is reported for two conditions: the large set size tracked participants' CDA when the memory set was homogenous - comprised of multiple items from the same stimulus category thus all were cued; the small set size analyses tracked participants' performance when the memory set was heterogenous - comprised of items from multiple stimulus categories, with only one category being cued for the target response. Data from the full session was used in this analysis.

  4 hours

• The Amplitude of the "Contralateral Delay Activity" (CDA): Sub-study 6

  The CDA is an event-related potential (ERP) derived from posterior electrodes that tracks the amount of information held in working memory, and may also be sensitive to context-binding demands. It becomes more negative with increasing memory load. The CDA was computed from the EEG by averaging the voltage across trials to generate signals that were contralateral or ipsilateral to the memory cue. The "difference wave" was computed by subtracting the ipsilateral signals from contralateral signals. The amplitude of the CDA is reported for two conditions: The large set size tracked participants' CDA when the memory set was comprised of two target features; the small set size analyses tracked participants' performance when the memory set was comprised of one target feature. Data from the full session was used in this analysis.

  4 hours

• Experiment 2.a. The Amplitude of Multivariate Inverted Encoding Model-reconstructions of Stimulus Location, Derived From the Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation-evoked Response

  Multivariate inverted encoding modeling will be used to reconstruct the representation of stimulus locations from the electroencephalography data, and the strength of the representation will be compared across three stimulus conditions. Note that this method entails analysis of the broadband electroencephalographic signal (bandpass filtered from 1-100Hz) in each of two formats: time domain, and spectrally transformed. The spectrally transformed analysis does not entail the separate analysis of discrete functionally defined frequency bands (e.g., alpha, beta, etc.). Rather, spectral power values at every integer frequency from 2 to 20 Hz and at every other integer frequency from 22 to 50 Hz, yielding 34 frequencies per channel, are used as features in the analysis.

  5 hours

• Experiment 2.a. Spatially Distributed Phase Coupling Extraction-identified Components of the Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation-evoked Electroencephalography Signal

  Spatially distributed phase coupling extraction-identified components of the transcranial magnetic stimulation-evoked electroencephalography signal will indicate whether the unattended memory item reactivation effect is carried by a de novo component in the electroencephalographic signal, or by a change in the power of one or more components that were present in the signal prior to the delivery of transcranial magnetic stimulation. Note that this method entails analysis of a spectral transformation of the broadband electroencephalographic signal that does not entail the separate analysis of discrete functionally defined frequency bands (e.g., alpha, beta, etc.) Rather, spectral power values at every integer frequency from 2 to 20 Hz and every other integer from frequency from 22 to 30 Hz - yielding 24 frequencies per channel - are entered into the analysis. No a priori assumptions are made about the frequency composition of components that the method will identify.

  5 hours

• Experiment 2.a. Correlation of the Amplitude of Multivariate Inverted Encoding Model-reconstructions of the Location of the Unattended Memory Item With Alpha Band Power.

  Correlation of the amplitude of multivariate inverted encoding model-reconstructions of the location of the unattended memory item, derived from the transcranial magnetic stimulation-evoked response, with alpha band power when targeting occipital cortex.

  5 hours

• Experiment 2.a. Correlation of the Amplitude of Multivariate Inverted Encoding Model-reconstructions of the Location of the Unattended Memory Item With Beta-band Power

  Correlation of the amplitude of multivariate inverted encoding model-reconstructions of the location of the unattended memory item, derived from the transcranial magnetic stimulation-evoked response, with beta-band power when targeting the intraparietal sulcus.

  5 hours

• Experiment 3.a. Frequency in the Alpha Band of the EEG as a Function of Retinotopic Location

  Frequency in the alpha band of the EEG as a function of retinotopic location

  4 hours

• Experiment 3.a. Spatially Distributed Phase Coupling Extraction-identified Components of the Electroencephalography Signal From Signals Corresponding to the Attended Location

  Spatially distributed phase coupling extraction-identified components of the electroencephalography signal from signals corresponding to the attended location to assess whether expectation-related shifts in alpha-band frequency are produced by a change in the frequency of one oscillator or by a change in the relative power of multiple oscillators.

  4 hours

• Experiment 4.a. Reaction Time Assess as Latency to Press Response Button After Onset of Critical Stimulus.

  Reaction time assess as latency to press response button after onset of critical stimulus.

  4 hours

• Experiment 4.a. Power in the Alpha Band of the EEG as a Function of Retinotopic Location

  Power in the alpha band of the EEG as a function of retinotopic location

  4 hours

• Experiment 4.a. Frequency in the Alpha Band of the EEG as a Function of Retinotopic Location

  Frequency in the alpha band of the EEG as a function of retinotopic location

  4 hours

• Experiment 4.a. Spatially Distributed Phase Coupling Extraction-identified Alpha-band Components of the Electroencephalography Signal From Signals Corresponding to the Attended Location

  Spatially distributed phase coupling extraction-identified components of the electroencephalography signal from signals corresponding to the attended location to assess whether expectation-related shifts in alpha-band frequency are produced by a change in the frequency of one oscillator or by a change in the relative power of multiple oscillators.

  4 hours

• Experiment 6. Multivariate Inverted Encoding Modeling of the EEG Signal to Determine Whether or Not Contextual Information is Carried in This Signal

  Multivariate inverted encoding modeling of the EEG signal to determine whether or not contextual information is carried in this signal. Note that this method entails analysis of the broadband electroencephalographic signal (bandpass filtered from 1-100Hz) in each of two formats: time domain, and spectrally transformed. The spectrally transformed analysis does not entail the separate analysis of discrete functionally defined frequency bands (e.g., alpha, beta, etc.). Rather, spectral power values at every integer frequency from 2 to 20 Hz and at every other integer frequency from 22 to 50 Hz - yielding 34 frequencies per channel -- are used as features in the analysis.

  4 hours

Study Arms (1)

2016-0500-Healthy YoungAdults

EXPERIMENTAL

working memory and attention

Behavioral: working memory and attention

Interventions

working memory and attention BEHAVIORAL

Behavioral tests of working memory and attention

2016-0500-Healthy YoungAdults

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years - 35 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64)

You may qualify if:

• Age of # 18 \<36. - Right-handed.
• Be in good health determined by the investigator on basis of medical history, physical and neurological exam; for "EEG-only" sessions no physical or neurological exams will be performed;
• Female subjects must be two years past menopause, surgically sterile or practicing a medically acceptable method of birth control (does not apply to "EEG-only" sessions);
• Female subjects must not be pregnant.
• Able to understand and speak English.
• Able to provide written consent prior to admission

You may not qualify if:

• History of epilepsy, stroke, brain surgery, cranial metal implants, structural brain lesion, devices that may be affected by TMS or tCS(pacemaker, medication pump, cochlear implant, implanted brain stimulator); - Women who are breast-feeding (self report)\*;
• History of head trauma with loss of consciousness for greater than 5 minutes;
• Any history of seizures;
• Any family history of seizures\*;
• Diabetes requiring insulin treatment\*;
• A serious heart disorder or subjects who have had a heart attack within the last 3 months;
• Subjects who meet DSM-IV criteria for alcohol /drug abuse problems within the last six months;
• Any current Axis I or II diagnoses or past Axis I diagnoses;
• Required use of medication that affects CNS function;
• A subject with metallic implants, such as prostheses, shrapnel or aneurysm clip-S, or persons with electronic implants, such as cardiac pacemakers. The magnetic field generated by the MR machine can cause a displacement or malfunctioning of these devices\*;
• The female subject who is pregnant or planning to become pregnant; or a female subject of child-bearing potential who is not practicing a medically acceptable form of birth control\*;
• The subject has had a diagnosis of cancer in the past 3 years and/or has active neoplastic disease;
• The investigator anticipates that the subject will be unable to comply with the protocol.
• Prohibited Concomitant Treatment: Any investigational medication; antipsychotic, antidepressant; or ECT; Other psychotropic medications including sedative hypnotics (excluding chloral hydrate zaleplon); sumatriptan (and similar agents); anxiolytics and herbals (e.g., St. John's Wort, Kava Kava); an introduction or change in intensity of psychotherapy; any nonpsychopharmacologic drug with psychotropic effects (e.g., antihistamines, beta blockers).
• Colorblindness

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of Wisconsin, Madison: lead
• National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH): collaborator

Study Sites (1)

University of Wisconsin - Madison

Madison, Wisconsin, 53706, United States

Location

Related Publications (4)

• Fulvio JM, Postle BR. Cognitive Control, Not Time, Determines the Status of Items in Working Memory. J Cogn. 2020 Apr 9;3(1):8. doi: 10.5334/joc.98.

  PMID: 32292872 RESULT

• Pietrelli M, Samaha J, Postle BR. Spectral Distribution Dynamics across Different Attentional Priority States. J Neurosci. 2022 May 11;42(19):4026-4041. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2318-21.2022. Epub 2022 Apr 6.

  PMID: 35387871 RESULT

• Wan Q, Cai Y, Samaha J, Postle BR. Tracking stimulus representation across a 2-back visual working memory task. R Soc Open Sci. 2020 Aug 5;7(8):190228. doi: 10.1098/rsos.190228. eCollection 2020 Aug.

  PMID: 32968489 RESULT

• Cai Y, Fulvio JM, Samaha J, Postle BR. Context Binding in Visual Working Memory Is Reflected in Bilateral Event-Related Potentials, But Not in Contralateral Delay Activity. eNeuro. 2022 Nov 9;9(6):ENEURO.0207-22.2022. doi: 10.1523/ENEURO.0207-22.2022. Print 2022 Nov-Dec.

  PMID: 36265905 RESULT

Results Point of Contact

• Title: Brad Postle, PhD
• Organization: University of Wisconsin - Madison

postle@wisc.edu

608-262-4330

Publication Agreements

• PI is Sponsor Employee: Yes

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: NA
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: BASIC SCIENCE
• Intervention Model: SINGLE GROUP
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: December 14, 2018
• First Posted: December 26, 2018
• Study Start: March 1, 2019
• Primary Completion: April 21, 2023
• Study Completion: April 21, 2023
• Last Updated: October 9, 2024
• Results First Posted: October 9, 2024

Record last verified: 2024-10

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

US (1)