At first glance: How saccades drive communication between the visual system and the hippocampus during memory formation

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Tobias Staudigl
• Subject Area: General, Cognitive and Mathematical Psychology ; Human Cognitive and Systems Neuroscience
• Term: Funded in 2015
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 269339660

Information processing in the human brain depends on the exact timing of neuronal activity. Duty cycles, defining favorable states of activity within the phase of a neuronal oscillation, have been shown to coordinate information processing in the visual domain (Jensen & Mazaheri, 2010) and the formation of new memories (Buzsaki, 2010). While there is little doubt about the interaction between these two domains, as of yet the underlying mechanisms are unclear. The aim of the present proposal is to understand the mechanisms supporting human memory formation by investigating the joint inter-regional coordination of visual and memory-related brain regions. Recent evidence suggests that saccadic eye movements modulate hippocampal oscillations in non-human primates during memory formation (Jutras et al., 2013). I hypothesize that neuronal oscillations following saccades are instrumental to synchronize visual cortex and hippocampus activity. Memory performance is expected to benefit from such efficient synchronization. The aim of the current research plan is to test these hypotheses directly by using a combination of electrophysiological (MEG), neuroimaging (fMRI) and behavioral (eye tracker) recordings in a memory paradigm.

• DFG Programme: Research Fellowships
• International Connection: Netherlands
• Hosts: Professor Dr. Christian Doeller; Professor Dr. Ole Jensen