The interrelationship between movement and cognition: Theta rhythm and the P300 event-related potential

The relationship among brain electrophysiological activity, motor activity, and cognition has been a matter of great interest. For example, it has been discussed whether hippocampal theta rhythm reflects motor activity or cognitive activity, whereas it is widely accepted that the P300 event‐related potential (ERP) reflects cognitive processes such as updating working memory. Here, we investigated the interrelationships among motor activity, hippocampal theta rhythm, and hippocampal P300 ERP using electrophysiological and behavioral data recorded from rats performing an auditory discrimination task (i.e., the auditory oddball paradigm) in a chamber with and without a running‐wheel. We found that the hippocampal theta rhythm generated during locomotion codes information about self‐motion, and event‐related increases in hippocampal theta rhythm observed when rats performed the auditory discrimination cognitive task reflect a change in motor behavior after learning the cognitive task. Interestingly, the hippocampal P300 ERP occurred coincidently with increases in the power and frequency of hippocampal theta rhythm. In addition, we found that changes in theta rhythm observed during spontaneous wheel running without performing a cognitive task as well as when performing the cognitive task are associated with changes in delta‐ and gamma‐band EEG activities. These major findings are discussed with respect to current hypotheses regarding P300 ERP and theta‐, delta‐, and gamma‐band EEG activities in brain functions. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.