ReviewOscillatory correlates of memory in non-human primates

- Oscillatory activity in multiple frequency bands has been associated with memory.
- Encoding and retrieval may be mediated by oscillations in the medial temporal lobe.
- Such activity may also underlie temporal processing and associations in memory.
- High frequency oscillations may facilitate memory reactivation during consolidation.
- Neural oscillations are thought to promote the organization of functional networks.

The ability to navigate through our environment, explore with our senses, track the passage of time, and integrate these various components to form the experiences which make up our lives is shared among humans and animals. The use of animal models to study memory, coupled with electrophysiological techniques that permit the direct measurement of neural activity as memories are formed and retrieved, has provided a wealth of knowledge about these mechanisms. Here, we discuss current knowledge regarding the specific role of neural oscillations in memory, with particular emphasis on findings derived from non-human primates. Some of these findings provide evidence for the existence in the primate brain of mechanisms previously identified only in rodents and other lower mammals, while other findings suggest parallels between memory-related activity and processes observed in other cognitive modalities, including attention and sensory perception. Taken together, these results provide insight into how network activity may be organized to promote memory formation, and suggest that key aspects of this activity are similar across species, providing important information about the organization of human memory.