Frontal delta and theta power reflect strategy changes during human spatial memory retrieval in a virtual water maze task: an exploratory analysis

Brain oscillations in humans play a role in a wide range of cognitive processes, including navigation and memory. The oscillatory dynamics contributing to successful spatial memory recall in humans are not well-understood. To investigate specific oscillatory frequency bands during the recall process in human navigation, we recorded electroencephalographic (EEG) activity during a recall trial in healthy young adults (n = 15) following the learning of a goal location in a Virtual Water Maze task. We compared this to the activity during the same trial length, in a group of participants who did not learn a target location and navigated freely but were time-matched to the learning group (non-learning, n = 15). We compared relative power in Delta (2–4 Hz), Theta (5–7 Hz), Alpha (8–12 Hz), Beta (15–29 Hz), and Gamma (30–40 Hz) bands across the scalp. We found that delta and theta activity were greater during recall in our learning group, as opposed to our non-learning group. We also demonstrated clear suppression in the alpha band at posterior sites during memory-guided navigation compared to our non-learning group. Additionally, when goal-directed navigation switches to focused searching behavior, power becomes greater at the frontal region; with increases in the delta and theta bands reflecting this strategy change. There was also greater beta and gamma activity at posterior sites in our learning group. We discuss the results further in terms of the possible roles and functions of these oscillations during human navigation and hope this exploratory analysis can provide hypotheses for future spatial navigation and memory work.