Role of Parietal Cortex in Episodic Retrieval

University Of California-Berkeley, Berkeley CA

Investigators

Abstract

The ability to call to mind past experiences and events is the essence of human memory. Our understanding of this process often called episodic retrieval has been advanced by neuroimaging studies, particularly those involving functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Brain regions involved in episodic retrieval can be analyzed by measuring activity during successful retrieval of a memory. Two prominent regions have been linked to episodic retrieval the parietal cortex and the prefrontal cortex. Although the role of the prefrontal cortex in memory has been studied extensively, there is less detail about the role of the parietal cortex. With support from the National Science Foundation, Dr. Arthur P. Smimamura of the University of California, Berkeley, will use fMRI to study brain activity during episodic retrieval. Three other tasks will be compared with episodic retrieval of word lists: visuospatial processing (seeing letter strings to the right or left of a target), working memory (remembering the location of visual targets), and semantic retrieval (recalling an experimentally determined piece of information). By having such an array of processes, the role of the parietal cortex in episodic memory should become clear. Research has recently focused on the dynamics between brain regions, rather than the activity in just one region. Moreover, past investigations have keyed on a particular cognitive process, such as episodic memory or visuospatial attention and their neural correlates, without considering how such processes interact. In the present research program, the contribution of the parietal cortex will be assessed across a variety of tasks, and the degree to which brain responses across these tasks overlap will be investigated. By this analysis, it is hoped that the neural dynamics underlying episodic retrieval will be revealed and clarified. Such insights will help us understand the workings of everyday memory and perhaps to help overcome their loss.