This result was subsequently replicated in numerous studies demonstrating activity in the hippocampus and associated parahippocampal cortical regions during encoding of new information, including work showing that the magnitude of hippocampal activity during encoding of stimuli correlates with recognition of stimuli in subsequent memory tests.
[2] Stern demonstrated that holding novel visual scenes in working memory involves activation of medial temporal lobe structures.
[3] This activation of medial temporal lobe for novel visual scenes contrasted with activation for familiar visual scenes that primarily appeared in the prefrontal cortex and parietal cortex, which were the focus of most previous fMRI studies of working memory function for familiar stimuli.
[5] In subsequent work, Stern linked this medial temporal lobe activity to mechanisms of persistent spiking shown in individual neurons.
In research with Yakeel Quiroz, Stern showed higher fMRI signal (hyperactivity) in the hippocampal formation in young subjects with a mutation of the presenilin1 gene that results in familial Alzheimer's disease.