Ĭortical activity can be noninvasively recorded from the scalp using EEG. Increased difficulty on a working memory task is associated with increased connectivity between prefrontal and parietal areas. In addition, throughout working memory maintenance, the prefrontal and parietal neuronal ensembles are activated simultaneously. In particular, working memory tasks involving visuospatial information activate areas of the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and are often right lateralized. Neuroanatomically, the network governing working memory is distributed over a large part of the brain. Individuals exhibit a capacity limit on the number of items that can be simultaneously retained in working memory. Working memory is the system in control of online processing and organization of information for successful reasoning, comprehension, and goal directed behavior. The study presented here examines the network properties of brain regions involved in working memory with the goal of understanding how environmental stimuli, in this case acoustic stimulation with specific oscillatory synchrony, can modulate cognitive processing. While the native networks associated with memory have been explored, their response to noninvasive stimulation remains to be fully characterized.

The network properties, which are conserved over all scales, include small world degree distributions, short path lengths, modularity, hierarchy, hub nodes, and robustness. Networks describing the interconnections between these cortical regions exhibit a high degree of randomness and modularity, but relatively low heterogeneity.

In memory tasks, for example, these interactions across regions are thought to be reflected in the coupling across multiple EEG oscillatory bands, particularly at theta (4Hz-8Hz) and gamma (25Hz-40Hz) frequencies. memory tasks involve prefrontal, temporal, and sensory processes). Based on graphical network analyses, the cortical activity during 15Hz binaural beats produced networks characteristic of high information transfer with consistent connection strengths throughout the visuospatial working memory task.įindings from the cognitive neuroimaging literature show that the integration of regional neuronal activity, in the form of coordinated network processing, is required for complex cognition (e.g. The three auditory control conditions and the 5Hz and 10Hz binaural beats all decreased accuracy. We found that listening to 15Hz binaural beats during a visuospatial working memory task not only increased the response accuracy, but also modified the strengths of the cortical networks during the task. Three acoustic stimulation control conditions and three binaural beat stimulation conditions were used: None, Pure Tone, Classical Music, 5Hz binaural beats, 10Hz binaural beats, and 15Hz binaural beats. In this study, we determined the effects of different acoustic stimulation conditions on participant response accuracy and cortical network topology, as measured by EEG recordings, during a visuospatial working memory task. Furthermore, no studies have evaluated the effects of binaural beats on brain connectivity during working memory tasks. The effects of binaural beats on working memory, the system in control of temporary retention and online organization of thoughts for successful goal directed behavior, have not been well studied. This procedure produces a third phantom binaural beat, whose frequency is equal to the difference of the two presented tones and which can be manipulated for non-invasive brain stimulation. Binaural beats utilize a phenomenon that occurs within the cortex when two different frequencies are presented separately to each ear.

Binaural beat in theta pattern