Theta-Phase Targeted Encoding Gates Memory Sensitivity
- 1Maastricht University
Abstract
Theta phase has been proposed to play an important role in memory. It may gate encoding and retrieval, such that certain phases are more favorable for memory processing than others, or become part of the memory representation, such that reinstating the encoding phase benefits retrieval. To test and distinguish these competing accounts, we used a closed-loop EEG system, allowing us to control the phase at which items were presented at encoding and retrieval. In an associative memory task, visual targets were presented at predefined phases of the ongoing mid-frontal theta rhythm, thereby pairing individual memory items with specific encoding phases. During retrieval, targets appeared either at the same phase as during encoding or at an alternative phase. We show that theta phase during encoding predicted subsequent memory sensitivity, while finding no evidence that retrieval phase nor the match between encoding and retrieval phases influenced performance. Therefore, our findings are consistent with a gating account, in which the rhythmic state at the moment of encoding influences the efficacy of memory formation.
Related
- Reduced theta-gamma coupling during real-world episodic encoding
- Theta sequences support real-time spatial memory retrieval
- Hippocampal CA1 neurons are crucial for sleep-associated memory formation in humans: The role of theta power during NREM sleep
- Optogenetic reduction of theta oscillations induces remapping of time cells without memory impairment
- Goal-directed hippocampal theta sweeps during memory-guided navigation
BibTeX
@misc{raissle2026thetaphase,
title = {{Theta-Phase Targeted Encoding Gates Memory Sensitivity}},
author = {A. Raissle and V. van de Ven and I. Leunissen and Z. Fang and G. Valente and P. Naseri and S. Ten Oever},
howpublished = {bioRxiv},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.64898/2026.10.29.762605},
url = {https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.29.762605v1},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Theta-Phase Targeted Encoding Gates Memory Sensitivity
AU - A. Raissle
AU - V. van de Ven
AU - I. Leunissen
AU - Z. Fang
AU - G. Valente
AU - P. Naseri
AU - S. Ten Oever
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/29
PB - bioRxiv
DO - 10.64898/2026.10.29.762605
UR - https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.29.762605v1
AB - Theta phase has been proposed to play an important role in memory. It may gate encoding and retrieval, such that certain phases are more favorable for memory processing than others, or become part of the memory representation, such that reinstating the encoding phase benefits retrieval. To test and distinguish these competing accounts, we used a closed-loop EEG system, allowing us to control the phase at which items were presented at encoding and retrieval. In an associative memory task, visual targets were presented at predefined phases of the ongoing mid-frontal theta rhythm, thereby pairing individual memory items with specific encoding phases. During retrieval, targets appeared either at the same phase as during encoding or at an alternative phase. We show that theta phase during encoding predicted subsequent memory sensitivity, while finding no evidence that retrieval phase nor the match between encoding and retrieval phases influenced performance. Therefore, our findings are consistent with a gating account, in which the rhythmic state at the moment of encoding influences the efficacy of memory formation.
ER -