TY - JOUR TI - Fast-backward replay of sequentially memorized items in humans AU - Huang, Qiaoli AU - Jia, Jianrong AU - Han, Qiming AU - Luo, Huan A2 - Davachi, Lila A2 - Frank, Michael J A2 - Haegens, Saskia VL - 7 PY - 2018 DA - 2018/10/18 SP - e35164 C1 - eLife 2018;7:e35164 DO - 10.7554/eLife.35164 UR - https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.35164 AB - Storing temporal sequences of events (i.e., sequence memory) is fundamental to many cognitive functions. However, it is unknown how the sequence order information is maintained and represented in working memory and its behavioral significance, particularly in human subjects. We recorded electroencephalography (EEG) in combination with a temporal response function (TRF) method to dissociate item-specific neuronal reactivations. We demonstrate that serially remembered items are successively reactivated during memory retention. The sequential replay displays two interesting properties compared to the actual sequence. First, the item-by-item reactivation is compressed within a 200 – 400 ms window, suggesting that external events are associated within a plasticity-relevant window to facilitate memory consolidation. Second, the replay is in a temporally reversed order and is strongly related to the recency effect in behavior. This fast-backward replay, previously revealed in rat hippocampus and demonstrated here in human cortical activities, might constitute a general neural mechanism for sequence memory and learning. KW - sequence memory KW - sequential reactivation KW - Temporal response function KW - reverse replay KW - recency effect JF - eLife SN - 2050-084X PB - eLife Sciences Publications, Ltd ER -