Enhanced role of the entorhinal cortex in adapting to increased working memory load.

Journal: Nature communications
Published Date: Jul 1, 2025

Abstract

In daily life, we frequently encounter varying demands on working memory (WM), yet how the brain adapts to high WM load remains unclear. To address this question, we recorded intracranial EEG from hippocampus, entorhinal cortex (EC), and lateral temporal cortex (LTC) in humans performing a task with varying WM loads (load 4, 6, and 8). Using multivariate machine learning analysis, we decoded WM load using the power from each region as neural features. The results showed that the EC exhibited both higher decoding accuracy on medium-to-high load and superior cross-regional generalization. Further analysis revealed that removing EC-related information significantly reduced residual decoding accuracy in the hippocampus and LTC. Additionally, we found that WM maintenance was associated with enhanced phase synchronization between the EC and other regions. This inter-regional communication increased as WM load rose. These results suggest that under higher WM load, the brain relies more on the EC, a key connector that links and shares information with the hippocampus and LTC.

Authors

  • Jiayi Yang
    School of Electronic and Information Engineering, Beijing Jiaotong University, Beijing 100044, China.
  • Dan Cao
    Guangdong Eye Institute, Department of Ophthalmology, Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital, Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences, the Second School of Clinical Medicine, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China.
  • Chunyan Guo
    School of Psychology, Capital Normal University, Beijing, China.
  • Lennart Stieglitz
    Department of Neurosurgery, University Hospital Zurich, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
  • Debora Ledergerber
    Swiss Epilepsy Center, Clinic Lengg, Zurich, Switzerland.
  • Johannes Sarnthein
    Clinical Neuroscience Center, University Hospital Zurich and University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
  • Jin Li
    Mental Health Center, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.

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