| First Author | Tamura M | Year | 2017 |
| Journal | Nat Commun | Volume | 8 |
| Issue | 1 | Pages | 2182 |
| PubMed ID | 29259151 | Mgi Jnum | J:260060 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:6112147 | Doi | 10.1038/s41467-017-02108-9 |
| Citation | Tamura M, et al. (2017) Hippocampal-prefrontal theta-gamma coupling during performance of a spatial working memory task. Nat Commun 8(1):2182 |
| abstractText | Cross-frequency coupling supports the organization of brain rhythms and is present during a range of cognitive functions. However, little is known about whether and how long-range cross-frequency coupling across distant brain regions subserves working memory. Here we report that theta-slow gamma coupling between the hippocampus and medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) is augmented in a genetic mouse model of cognitive dysfunction. This increased cross-frequency coupling is observed specifically when the mice successfully perform a spatial working memory task. In wild-type mice, increasing task difficulty by introducing a long delay or by optogenetically interfering with encoding, also increases theta-gamma coupling during correct trials. Finally, epochs of high hippocampal theta-prefrontal slow gamma coupling are associated with increased synchronization of neurons within the mPFC. These findings suggest that enhancement of theta-slow gamma coupling reflects a compensatory mechanism to maintain spatial working memory performance in the setting of increased difficulty. |
