Role of neuronal oscillations in memory driven visual processing

BACKGROUND: Successful working memory of previous locations is critical for optimal navigation of the environment in primates. However, it remains unclear how successful working memory influences the statistics of sensory-motor probing (e.g., whisking, sniffing, saccading). This study addresses this gap by investigating the coupling between saccadic eye movements and neural oscillations in the frontal eye field. RESULTS: We demonstrate that the influence of working memory on saccadic behaviors involves a distinct coupling to beta rhythms. Analyzing local field potentials (LFPs) and saccadic patterns in rhesus monkeys performing a visual foraging task, we find that prior memory of visual targets is followed by a significant reduction of the synchronization of saccades with beta oscillations. This reduction suggests that working memory refines saccadic strategies by dynamically modulating neural synchronization, thereby optimizing visual search efficiency. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings elucidate a fundamental mechanism through which memory may affect sensory-motor integration, highlighting the pivotal role of neural oscillatory adjustments in enhancing the cognitive processes that govern strategic eye movements and perception.