Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2024 Sep;60(6):5413-5427.
doi: 10.1111/ejn.16478. Epub 2024 Sep 2.

Fronto-parietal activity changes associated with changes in working memory load: Evidence from simultaneous electroencephalography and functional near-infrared spectroscopy analysis

Yu Wang  1   2 , Yihang Feng  1 , Qi Pan  3 , Qiumin Qu  4 , Bin Wen  1 , Fangning Pang  1 , Jin Xu  1   2
Affiliations

Fronto-parietal activity changes associated with changes in working memory load: Evidence from simultaneous electroencephalography and functional near-infrared spectroscopy analysis

Yu Wang et al. Eur J Neurosci. 2024 Sep.

Abstract

Working memory (WM) involves the capacity to maintain and manipulate information over short periods. Previous research has suggested that fronto-parietal activities play a crucial role in WM. However, there remains no agreement on the effect of working memory load (WML) on neural activities and haemodynamic responses. Here, our study seeks to examine the effect of WML through simultaneous electroencephalography (EEG) and functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). In this study, a delay change detection task was conducted on 23 healthy volunteers. The task included three levels: one item, three items and five items. The EEG and fNIRS were simultaneously recorded during the task. Neural activities and haemodynamic responses at prefrontal and parietal regions were analysed using time-frequency analysis and weighted phase-lag index (wPLI). We observed a significant enhancement in prefrontal and parietal β suppression as WML increased. Furthermore, as WML increased, there was a notable enhancement in fronto-parietal connectivity (FPC), as evidenced by both EEG and fNIRS. Correlation analysis indicated that as WML increased, there was a potential for enhancement of neurovascular coupling (NVC) of FPC.

Keywords: fronto‐parietal connectivity (FPC); neurovascular coupling (NVC); simultaneous EEG‐fNIRS; working memory load (WML).

PubMed Disclaimer

References

REFERENCES

    1. Baddeley, A. (2003). Working memory: Looking back and looking forward. Nature Reviews. Neuroscience, 4(10), 829–839. https://doi.org/10.1038/nrn1201
    1. Boere, K., Hecker, K., & Krigolson, O. E. (2024). Validation of a mobile fNIRS device for measuring working memory load in the prefrontal cortex. International Journal of Psychophysiology: Official Journal of the International Organization of Psychophysiology, 195, 112275. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2023.112275
    1. Bujang, M.A., & Baharum, N. (2016). Sample size guideline for correlation analysis. https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:124561572
    1. Cabeza, R., & Nyberg, L. (2000). Imaging cognition II: An empirical review of 275 PET and fMRI studies. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 12(1), 1–47. https://doi.org/10.1162/08989290051137585
    1. Chai, W. J., Abd Hamid, A. I., & Abdullah, J. M. (2018). Working memory from the psychological and neurosciences perspectives: A review. Frontiers in Psychology, 9, 401. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00401

LinkOut - more resources