Memory formation and neural activity before an event. (360G-Wellcome-084618_Z_08_Z)

It has recently been demonstrated that brain activity before an event can predict whether the event will later be recollected. This indicates that effective memory formation not only relies on the neural activity elicited by the event itself (as has been known for the past 30 years), but also by activity immediately prior to the event. The aim of the proposed research is to advance our knowledge of pre-stimulus influences on long-term memory encoding. The project has three key goals: 1. To under stand what mental processes are associated with pre-stimulus brain activity; 2. To identify whether pre-stimulus activity can be engaged flexibly and voluntarily; and 3. To ascertain how pre-stimulus activity explains individual differences in memory. A series of experiments is planned in which electrical brain activity is recorded non-invasively from the scalps of healthy human adults while they perform tasks designed to elucidate aspects of encoding. The question of interest is how activity be fore an event varies depending on, among others, type of to-be-encoded information, incentive to encode, and predictability of the experimental sequence. The findings will advance accounts of encoding, and lay the groundwork for future investigations in people with memory deficits (e.g. the elderly and Alzheimer s patients).