Changes in Power and Information Flow in Resting-state EEG by Working Memory Process

Abstract

Many studies have analyzed working memory (WM) from electroencephalogram (EEG). However, little is known about changes in the brain neurodynamics among resting-state (RS) according to the WM process. Here, we identified frequency-specific power and information flow patterns among three RS EEG before and after WM encoding and WM retrieval. Our results demonstrated the difference in power and information flow among RS EEG in delta (1-3.5 Hz), alpha (8-13.5 Hz), and beta (14-29.5 Hz) bands. In particular, there was a marked increase in the alpha band after WM retrieval. In addition, we calculated the association between significant characteristics of RS EEG and WM performance, and interestingly, correlations were found only in the alpha band. These results suggest that RS EEG according to the WM process has a significant impact on the variability and WM performance of brain mechanisms in relation to cognitive function.