Hippocampal stimulation reveals causal role of persistent neural activity in human working memory.

ABSTRACT: Working memory (WM) enables the temporary maintenance and manipulation of information, supporting flexible, goal-directed behavior. While converging evidence suggests that the hippocampus contributes to WM storage, its causal role in WM remains unclear. Here, we combined simultaneous intracranial single-neuron recordings in the hippocampus and several cortical areas with focal electrical stimulation in the human hippocampus to test the causal necessity of hippocampal activity for WM. Thirty patients with implanted hybrid depth electrodes performed a WM task with images as memoranda. Electrical stimulation (2 s, 50 Hz, 1 mA) was delivered to the hippocampus during the maintenance period on a subset of trials. Behaviorally, stimulation impaired WM performance, reducing accuracy and increasin

SUBMITTER: Daume J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12393521 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature