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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Behav. Neurosci.
Sec. Learning and Memory
Volume 19 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fnbeh.2025.1555081
This article is part of the Research Topic Theta rhythm generation in learning and memory: cognitive processes and neurological applications View all articles
The rhythm of memory. Does theta frequency audio/visual flicker improve recall?
Provisionally accepted- University College London, London, United Kingdom
A fundamental question in cognitive neuroscience is how multi-sensory elements are bound into a unified memory trace. The formation of memories is thought to be reliant on precisely timed neural activity. Theta frequency neural oscillations have been proposed to orchestrate the timing of different sensory cortices. Here, we attempt to replicate findings that flickering stimuli presented in synchronous theta frequency will lead to enhanced recall. Additionally, we investigate whether theta frequency sensory flicker can improve encoding of emotional associative memories. The current study failed to replicate previous findings demonstrating improved recall for stimuli synchronously modulated at theta frequency in a multi-sensory associative learning task. We discuss possible explanations for the discrepancy between current and previous findings.
Keywords: Memory, oscillations, neural entrainment, theta, Association, LTP, LTD
Received: 03 Jan 2025; Accepted: 19 Feb 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Simeonov and Das. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Louise Simeonov, University College London, London, United Kingdom
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