Professor Maria Wimber

Professor (Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging)

telephone: 01413304060
email: Maria.Wimber@glasgow.ac.uk
pronouns: She/her/hers

62 Hillhead Street, Glasgow, Glasgow City, Scotland, Room 604, G12 8QB

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1917-353X

Research interests

The scientific work in my group is centered around the question how remembering works. We study how the human brain reconstructs memories of past events, and how our memories adaptively change each time we recall them.

Memories are reconstructions of the past, not veridical copies. One important line of research is concerned with the question how the memory recall process unfolds in time, starting with a reminder and ending with a more or less full-blown recollection. We use behavioural and multivariate ("decoding") approaches of neural signals (EEG, MEG, iEEG, fMRI) to track the neural footprints of memories, and to directly observe what features of a memory are reconstructed step by step in the human brain. We are also interested in how brain oscillations, and in particular the hippocampal theta rhythm, help to orchestrate the reactivation of memories.

On a slower time scale, we also study how memories qualitatively change over time and with repeated remembering. What aspects of an event are most likely to be remembered, and what aspects are most rapidly forgotten over time? Retrieving a memory has been shown to have two sides. On the positive side, memories become more stable and permanent each time we reactivate them. On the other hand, remembering can also induce forgetting of related memories. This forgetting is in fact a highly adaptive capacity of human memory: our brains appear to function on a "use it or lose it" basis, retaining the information that is frequently reactivated, and discarding irrelevant or competing information.

We study these adaptive memory processes using a range of neuroimaging and electrophysiological techniques, including functional MRI, EEG, MEG, and various combinations of those techniques. We also record signals directly from the human hippocampus, with the help of epilepsy patients who undergo presurgical monitoring and volunteer to take part in our research. In terms of analytic approaches, the group has a strong focus on multivariate pattern techniques (RSA, MVPA) that allow us to isolate the neural fingerprints of individual memory representations in neural activation patterns, and to observe how these mnemonic patterns dynamically change over time.

The research is funded by a Starting Grant from the European Research Council (ERC), by research grants from the Economic and Social Sciences Research Council UK (ERSC), a postdoctoral fellowship from the British Academy, and PhD scholarships from the BBSRC Midlands Integrative Biosciences Training Partnership (MIBTP) and the Stiftelsen Olle Enkvist Byggmästare.

Publications

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Number of items: 34.

2025

van der Plas, Mircea ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6030-5568, Roux, Frederic, Chelvarajah, Ramesh, Sawlani, Vijay, Staresina, Bernhard, Wimber, Maria ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1917-353X, Rollings, David T. and Hanslmayr, Simon ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4448-2147 (2025) Characterizing neuronal and population responses to electrical stimulation in the human hippocampo-cortical network. Brain Stimulation, 18(6), pp. 1764-1776. (doi: 10.1016/j.brs.2025.09.010) (PMID:40972817)

2024

van Bree, Sander, Mackenzie, Abbie Sarah and Wimber, Maria ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1917-353X (2024) No evidence that visual impulses enhance the readout of retrieved long-term memory contents from EEG activity. Imaging Neuroscience, 2, pp. 1-16. (doi: 10.1162/imag_a_00330)

Lifanov-Carr, Julia, Griffiths, Benjamin J., Linde-Domingo, Juan, Ferreira, Catarina S., Wilson, Martin, Mayhew, Stephen D., Charest, Ian and Wimber, Maria ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1917-353X (2024) Reconstructing spatio-temporal trajectories of visual object memories in the human brain. eNeuro, 11(9), ENEURO.0091-24.2024. (doi: 10.1523/ENEURO.0091-24.2024) (PMID:39242212) (PMCID:PMC11439564)

2023

Kolibius, L. D. et al. (2023) Hippocampal neurons code individual episodic memories in humans. Nature Human Behaviour, 7(11), pp. 1968-1979. (doi: 10.1038/s41562-023-01706-6) (PMID:37798368) (PMCID:PMC10663153)

2022

Roux, F. et al. (2022) Oscillations support short latency co-firing of neurons during human episodic memory formation. eLife, 11, e78109. (doi: 10.7554/elife.78109) (PMID:36448671) (PMCID:PMC9731574)

Kerrén, Casper, van Bree, Sander, Griffiths, Benjamin J. and Wimber, Maria ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1917-353X (2022) Phase separation of competing memories along the human hippocampal theta rhythm. eLife, 11, e80633. (doi: 10.7554/elife.80633) (PMID:36394367) (PMCID:PMC9671495)

van Bree, Sander, Melcón, María, Kolibius, Luca D., Kerrén, Casper, Wimber, Maria ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1917-353X and Hanslmayr, Simon ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4448-2147 (2022) The Brain Time Toolbox, a software library to retune electrophysiology data to brain dynamics. Nature Human Behaviour, 6(10), pp. 1430-1439. (doi: 10.1038/s41562-022-01386-8) (PMID:35726055)

2021

Treder, M. S. et al. (2021) The hippocampus as the switchboard between perception and memory. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 118(50), e211417111. (doi: 10.1073/pnas.2114171118)

ter Wal, M. et al. (2021) Theta rhythmicity governs human behavior and hippocampal signals during memory-dependent tasks. Nature Communications, 12, 7048. (doi: 10.1038/s41467-021-27323-3)

Lifanov, Julia, Linde-Domingo, Juan and Wimber, Maria ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1917-353X (2021) Feature-specific reaction times reveal a semanticisation of memories over time and with repeated remembering. Nature Communications, 12, 3177. (doi: 10.1038/s41467-021-23288-5) (PMID:34039970) (PMCID:PMC8155072)

2020

Martín-Buro, María Carmen, Wimber, Maria ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1917-353X, Henson, Richard N. and Staresina, Bernhard P. (2020) Alpha rhythms reveal when and where item and associative memories are retrieved. Journal of Neuroscience, 40(12), pp. 2510-2518. (doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.1982-19.2020) (PMID:32034067) (PMCID:PMC7083536)

2019

Griffiths, Benjamin James, Mayhew, Stephen D., Mullinger, Karen J., Jorge, João, Charest, Ian, Wimber, Maria ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1917-353X and Hanslmayr, Simon ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4448-2147 (2019) Alpha/beta power decreases track the fidelity of stimulus-specific information. eLife, 8, e49562. (doi: 10.7554/eLife.49562) (PMID:31782730) (PMCID:PMC6904219)

Ferreira, C.S., Charest, I. and Wimber, M. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1917-353X (2019) Retrieval aids the creation of a generalised memory trace and strengthens episode-unique information. NeuroImage, 201, 115996. (doi: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2019.07.009) (PMID:31280012)

Griffiths, B. J. et al. (2019) Directional coupling of slow and fast hippocampal gamma with neocortical alpha/beta oscillations in human episodic memory. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 116(43), pp. 21834-21842. (doi: 10.1073/pnas.1914180116) (PMID:31597741) (PMCID:PMC6815125)

Tay, Kai Rong, Flavell, Charlotte R., Cassini, Lindsey, Wimber, Maria ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1917-353X and Lee, Jonathan L.C. (2019) Postretrieval relearning strengthens hippocampal memories via destabilization and reconsolidation. Journal of Neuroscience, 39(6), pp. 1109-1118. (doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2618-18.2018) (PMID:30587543) (PMCID:PMC6363934)

Linde-Domingo, Juan, Treder, Matthias S., Kerrén, Casper and Wimber, Maria ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1917-353X (2019) Evidence that neural information flow is reversed between object perception and object reconstruction from memory. Nature Communications, 10, 179. (doi: 10.1038/s41467-018-08080-2) (PMID:30643124) (PMCID:PMC6331625)

2018

Kerrén, Casper, Linde-Domingo, Juan, Hanslmayr, Simon ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4448-2147 and Wimber, Maria ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1917-353X (2018) An optimal oscillatory phase for pattern reactivation during memory retrieval. Current Biology, 28(21), 3383-3392.e6. (doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2018.08.065) (PMID:30344116)

Wimber, Maria ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1917-353X, Alink, Arjen, Charest, Ian, Kriegeskorte, Nikolaus and Anderson, Michael C. (2018) Author correction: Retrieval induces adaptive forgetting of competing memories via cortical pattern suppression. Nature Neuroscience, 21(10), p. 1493. (doi: 10.1038/s41593-018-0220-3) (PMID:30111872)

Michelmann, S. et al. (2018) Data-driven re-referencing of intracranial EEG based on independent component analysis (ICA). Journal of Neuroscience Methods, 307, pp. 125-137. (doi: 10.1016/j.jneumeth.2018.06.021) (PMID:29960028)

2016

Fellner, Marie-Christin, Volberg, Gregor, Wimber, Maria ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1917-353X, Goldhacker, Markus, Greenlee, Mark W. and Hanslmayr, Simon ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4448-2147 (2016) Spatial mnemonic encoding: theta power decreases and medial temporal lobe BOLD increases co-occur during the usage of the method of loci. eNeuro, 3(6), (doi: 10.1523/ENEURO.0184-16.2016) (PMID:28101523) (PMCID:PMC5223054)

Fellner, M-C., Volberg, G., Mullinger, K.J., Goldhacker, M., Wimber, M. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1917-353X, Greenlee, M.W. and Hanslmayr, S. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4448-2147 (2016) Spurious correlations in simultaneous EEG-fMRI driven by in-scanner movement. NeuroImage, 133, pp. 354-366. (doi: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2016.03.031) (PMID:27012498)

Horr, Ninja K., Wimber, Maria ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1917-353X and De Luca, Massimiliano (2016) Perceived time and temporal structure: neural entrainment to isochronous stimulation increases duration estimates. NeuroImage, 132, pp. 148-156. (doi: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2016.02.011) (PMID:26883062)

2015

Wimber, Maria ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1917-353X, Alink, Arjen, Charest, Ian, Kriegeskorte, Nikolaus and Anderson, Michael C. (2015) Retrieval induces adaptive forgetting of competing memories via cortical pattern suppression. Nature Neuroscience, 18(4), pp. 582-589. (doi: 10.1038/nn.3973) (PMID:25774450) (PMCID:PMC4394359)

2013

Hanslmayr, Simon ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4448-2147, Volberg, Gregor, Wimber, Maria ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1917-353X, Dalal, Sarang S. and Greenlee, Mark W. (2013) Prestimulus oscillatory phase at 7 Hz gates cortical information flow and visual perception. Current Biology, 23(22), pp. 2273-2278. (doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2013.09.020) (PMID:24184106)

Schott, Björn H., Wüstenberg, Torsten, Wimber, Maria ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1917-353X, Fenker, Daniela B., Zierhut, Kathrin C., Seidenbecher, Constanze I., Heinze, Hans-Jochen, Walter, Henrik, Düzel, Emrah and Richardson-Klavehn, Alan (2013) The relationship between level of processing and hippocampal-cortical functional connectivity during episodic memory formation in humans. Human Brain Mapping, 34(2), pp. 407-424. (doi: 10.1002/hbm.21435) (PMID:22042493) (PMCID:PMC6870091)

2012

Hanslmayr, Simon ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4448-2147, Volberg, Gregor, Wimber, Maria ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1917-353X, Oehler, Nora, Staudigl, Tobias, Hartmann, Thomas, Raabe, Markus, Greenlee, Mark W. and Bäuml, Karl-Heinz T. (2012) Prefrontally driven downregulation of neural synchrony mediates goal-directed forgetting. Journal of Neuroscience, 32(42), pp. 14742-14751. (doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.1777-12.2012) (PMID:23077059) (PMCID:PMC6621432)

Wimber, Maria ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1917-353X, Maaß, Anne, Staudigl, Tobias, Richardson-Klavehn, Alan and Hanslmayr, Simon ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4448-2147 (2012) Rapid memory reactivation revealed by oscillatory entrainment. Current Biology, 22(16), pp. 1482-1486. (doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2012.05.054) (PMID:22795695)

2011

Hanslmayr, Simon ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4448-2147, Volberg, Gregor, Wimber, Maria ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1917-353X, Raabe, Markus, Greenlee, Mark W. and Bäuml, Karl-Heinz T. (2011) The relationship between brain oscillations and BOLD signal during memory formation: a combined EEG-fMRI study. Journal of Neuroscience, 31(44), pp. 15674-15680. (doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.3140-11.2011) (PMID:22049410) (PMCID:PMC6623030)

Wimber, M. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1917-353X, Schott, B.H., Wendler, F., Seidenbecher, C.I., Behnisch, G., Macharadze, T., Bäuml, K.-H.T. and Richardson-Kavehn, A. (2011) Prefrontal dopamine and the dynamic control of human long-term memory. Translational Psychiatry, 1(7), e15. (doi: 10.1038/tp.2011.15) (PMID:22832518) (PMCID:PMC3309522)

2010

Wimber, Maria ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1917-353X, Heinze, Hans-Jochen and Richardson-Klavehn, Alan (2010) Distinct frontoparietal networks set the stage for later perceptual identification priming and episodic recognition memory. Journal of Neuroscience, 30(40), pp. 13272-13280. (doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0588-10.2010) (PMID:20926653) (PMCID:PMC6634739)

2009

Wimber, Maria ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1917-353X, Rutschmann, Roland Marcus, Greenlee, Mark W. and Bäuml, Karl-Heinz (2009) Retrieval from episodic memory: neural mechanisms of interference resolution. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 21(3), pp. 538-549. (doi: 10.1162/jocn.2009.21043) (PMID:18564040)

Richardson-Klavehn, Alan, Bergström, Zara M., Magno, Elena, Markopoulos, Gerasimos, Sweeney-Reed, Catherine M. and Wimber, Maria ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1917-353X (2009) On the intimate relationship between neurobiology and function in the theoretical analysis of human learning and memory. In: Rösler, Frank, Ranganath, Charles, Röder, Brigitte and Kluwe, Rainer (eds.) Neuroimaging of Human Memory: Linking Cognitive Processes to Neural Systemxs. Oxford University Press: Oxford, pp. 127-168. ISBN 9780199217298 (doi: 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199217298.003.0009)

2008

Wimber, Maria ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1917-353X, Bäuml, Karl-Heinz, Bergström, Zara, Markopoulos, Gerasimos, Heinz, Hans-Jochen and Richardson-Klavehn, Alan (2008) Neural markers of inhibition in human memory retrieval. Journal of Neuroscience, 28(50), pp. 13419-31427. (doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.1916-08.2008) (PMID:19074015) (PMCID:PMC6671770)

Hanslmayr, Simon ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4448-2147, Pastötter, Bernhard, Bäuml, Karl-Heinz, Gruber, Sieglinde, Wimber, Maria ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1917-353X and Klimesch, Wolfgang (2008) The electrophysiological dynamics of interference during the Stroop task. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 20(2), pp. 215-225. (doi: 10.1162/jocn.2008.20020) (PMID:18275330)

This list was generated on Thu Dec 25 17:40:19 2025 GMT.

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