The proposed research seeks to illuminate the mechanisms of human learning and memory and, in particular, the role of brain oscillations in this vital human capacity. While it has recently been shown that certain brain oscillations increase during learning and memory tasks (an oscillatory subsequent memory effect, or SME), the exact nature of their involvement in memory function remains unknown. In the proposed studies brain waves will be recorded from patients undergoing surgical/invasive monitoring as part of the clinical treatment of medically refractory epilepsy. By performing cognitive tasks that pose no health risks whatsoever, these patients can provide exquisite data on the involvement of brain waves in memory formation. The proposed research aims to determine: (1) the relative roles of oscillations in hippocampus and neocortex in supporting memory formation, (2) the relation of the phase of oscillatory activity and the cognitive processes underlying memory formation, (3) the relation between the oscillatory SME and the traditionally studied event related potential SMEs, and (4), the roles of temporal and semantic information in producing SMEs in free recall. ? ?
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