Synchronization Of Neural Activities With Binding Problem In Memory

The cognitive neural science and brain science focus on 'the binding problem' at present that refers to how the brain integrates dispersed representations in many cognitive activities. But there are different perspectives and insufficiencies between episodic memory and working memory. To investigate the difference between binding and non-binding, we adopt a new data resolution -BEAST to do EEG time frequency analysis and coherence analysis to reveal local- and long-range functional coupling in memory.Our research includes 15 undergraduate subjects and the stimuli are middle-frequency doubled Chinese words. We use four experiments including two study-test tasks of episodic memory and two delay-match tasks of working memory to reveal binding activities in the two memories.The results report that in the encoding and retrieval of episodic memory, significant differences were observed for the comparison binding to non-binding with local frontal low and high frequency activities in ICA analysis. ICA of long-range low and high frequency coherent activities obtain significant differences with a triangle phase locked structure that includes frontal and posterior regions. In the encoding and retrieval of working memory, ICA of local- low and high frequency activities get a significant difference with local frontal component. ICA of long-range low frequency coherent activities obtain a frontoposterior coherence component. Hereinbefore, local- and long-range components contribute to the successful binding between item and feature (context). In addition, we observe a frontoposterior phase-locking component in the two memories. Hence, we consider that episodic memory and working memory have a common component that includes the storage of perceptual representations in the posterior region and executive manipulation in the frontal region. The recognition retrieval of episodic memory require retain and manipulation of working memory. On the other hand, working memory needs storage of long-term memory.This research obtains some components that show significant differences between binding and non-binding in the encoding and retrieval of episodic memory and working memory. The components are crucial neural mechanism that is about if the brain integrates the separate representations into an object in the memory activities. We also find a common frontal-posterior network in episodic memory and working memory which supports the proposal that the two memories have a shared component.