A trio of brain networks dynamically orchestrates music recognition
Year: 2026
Type: preprint
Abstract: Recognition memory continuously integrates internal representations with sensory information to guide adaptive behavior. Yet most theoretical models conceptualize recognition as the retrieval of an isolated stimulus through a discrete sequence of steps including sensory processing, hippocampal retrieval, and cortical reinstatement. However, in natural settings, perception, memory, and predictions interact continuously within an evolving context to guide adaptive responses. It is unclear how brain networks coordinate the integration of internal and external information during dynamic recognition. Here, we combined intracranial recordings (N = 30) of high-frequency activity (70-160 Hz) and dimensionality reduction to characterize distributed network dynamics during music recognition. We identified three interacting functional networks supporting sensory processing, sensory-memory integration, and decision formation, whose temporal dynamics predicted the timing of behavior. During recognition of memorized sequences, sensory activity progressively attenuated, sensory inputs were combined with mnemonic and contextual information, and decision-related activity evolved toward sensorimotor engagement. Novel sequences disrupted this organization by sustaining sensory responses and accelerating decision-related activity. Sensory and integrative networks communicated bidirectionally. Our findings reveal recognition as a distributed, context-dependent, and goal-directed process emerging from the continuous and bidirectional coordination of large-scale brain networks.
Institutions: Aarhus University, University of Oxford, Royal Academy of Music, Weill Cornell Medicine, Weill Cornell Medical Center, University of Oslo, University of California San Diego, Washington University in St. Louis, Loma Linda University, University of California, Davis, University of California, Berkeley, University of Copenhagen
Language: English
Subfield: Cognitive Neuroscience
Field: Neuroscience
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7225749762
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