MEMORY PROCESSES DESCRIBED AS BRAIN OSCILLATIONS
IN THE EEG-ALPHA AND THETA BANDS

Abstract

This target article tries to integrate results in memory research from diverse disciplines such as psychophysiology, cognitive psychology, anatomy and neurophysiology. The integrating link is seen in more recent anatomical findings that provide strong arguments for the assumption that oscillations provide the basic form of communication between cortical cell assemblies. The basic argument is that episodic memory processes, which are part of a complex working memory system, are reflected by oscillations in the theta band, whereas long-term memory processes are reflected by alpha oscillations. It is assumed that alpha and theta oscillations serve to encode, access, and retrieve cortical codes that are stored in the form of widely distributed but intensely interconnected cell assemblies.

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