Magnetoencephalography recordings reveal the spatiotemporal dynamics of recognition memory for complex versus simple auditory sequences

Gemma Fernández-Rubio; Elvira Brattico; Sonja A. Kotz; Morten L. Kringelbach; Peter Vuust; Leonardo Bonetti

doi:10.1038/s42003-022-04217-8

Magnetoencephalography recordings reveal the spatiotemporal dynamics of recognition memory for complex versus simple auditory sequences

Gemma Fernández-Rubio^*, Elvira Brattico, Sonja A. Kotz, Morten L. Kringelbach, Peter Vuust, Leonardo Bonetti

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Academic › peer-review

Abstract

Auditory recognition is a crucial cognitive process that relies on the organization of single elements over time. However, little is known about the spatiotemporal dynamics underlying the conscious recognition of auditory sequences varying in complexity. To study this, we asked 71 participants to learn and recognize simple tonal musical sequences and matched complex atonal sequences while their brain activity was recorded using magnetoencephalography (MEG). Results reveal qualitative changes in neural activity dependent on stimulus complexity: recognition of tonal sequences engages hippocampal and cingulate areas, whereas recognition of atonal sequences mainly activates the auditory processing network. Our findings reveal the involvement of a cortico-subcortical brain network for auditory recognition and support the idea that stimulus complexity qualitatively alters the neural pathways of recognition memory.

Original language	English
Article number	1272
Number of pages	12
Journal	Communications Biology
Volume	5
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-022-04217-8
Publication status	Published - 19 Nov 2022

Keywords

Humans
Magnetoencephalography/methods
Acoustic Stimulation/methods
Recognition, Psychology
Auditory Perception
Brain/physiology

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10.1038/s42003-022-04217-8Licence: CC BY

Cite this

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title = "Magnetoencephalography recordings reveal the spatiotemporal dynamics of recognition memory for complex versus simple auditory sequences",

abstract = "Auditory recognition is a crucial cognitive process that relies on the organization of single elements over time. However, little is known about the spatiotemporal dynamics underlying the conscious recognition of auditory sequences varying in complexity. To study this, we asked 71 participants to learn and recognize simple tonal musical sequences and matched complex atonal sequences while their brain activity was recorded using magnetoencephalography (MEG). Results reveal qualitative changes in neural activity dependent on stimulus complexity: recognition of tonal sequences engages hippocampal and cingulate areas, whereas recognition of atonal sequences mainly activates the auditory processing network. Our findings reveal the involvement of a cortico-subcortical brain network for auditory recognition and support the idea that stimulus complexity qualitatively alters the neural pathways of recognition memory.",

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author = "Gemma Fern{\'a}ndez-Rubio and Elvira Brattico and Kotz, {Sonja A.} and Kringelbach, {Morten L.} and Peter Vuust and Leonardo Bonetti",

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doi = "10.1038/s42003-022-04217-8",

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AU - Fernández-Rubio, Gemma

AU - Brattico, Elvira

AU - Kotz, Sonja A.

AU - Kringelbach, Morten L.

AU - Vuust, Peter

AU - Bonetti, Leonardo

PY - 2022/11/19

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AB - Auditory recognition is a crucial cognitive process that relies on the organization of single elements over time. However, little is known about the spatiotemporal dynamics underlying the conscious recognition of auditory sequences varying in complexity. To study this, we asked 71 participants to learn and recognize simple tonal musical sequences and matched complex atonal sequences while their brain activity was recorded using magnetoencephalography (MEG). Results reveal qualitative changes in neural activity dependent on stimulus complexity: recognition of tonal sequences engages hippocampal and cingulate areas, whereas recognition of atonal sequences mainly activates the auditory processing network. Our findings reveal the involvement of a cortico-subcortical brain network for auditory recognition and support the idea that stimulus complexity qualitatively alters the neural pathways of recognition memory.

KW - Humans

KW - Magnetoencephalography/methods

KW - Acoustic Stimulation/methods

KW - Recognition, Psychology

KW - Auditory Perception

KW - Brain/physiology

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DO - 10.1038/s42003-022-04217-8

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