Oscillations and hippocampal–prefrontal synchrony

The hippocampus and medial prefrontal cortex subserve spatial working memory in rodents. Recent evidence has demonstrated functional interactions between these brain regions in the form of sychronization of oscillatory activity during behavior. The nature of this synchrony and its relationship to behavioral performance suggests an important role in the function of the hippocampal-prefrontal circuit.

► Lesion and silencing experiments suggest that the hippocampus and medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) must cooperate to perform spatial working memory tasks.
► Neural recordings during working memory tasks demonstrate enhanced synchronization of the hippocampus and mPFC during spatial working memory.
► Measures of synchrony correlate with learning.
► Individual differences in synchrony may relate to individual differences in behavior in normal subjects and in disease models.