scholarly journals Persistent Activity during Working Memory from Front to Back

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clayton E Curtis ◽  
Thomas C Sprague
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Neural Activity ◽  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Memory Storage ◽  
Past Century ◽  
Persistent Activity ◽  
Neuroscience Research ◽  
Early Visual Cortex ◽  
High Level

Working memory (WM) extends the duration over which information is available for processing. Given its importance in supporting a wide-array of high level cognitive abilities, uncovering the neural mechanisms that underlie WM has been a primary goal of neuroscience research over the past century. Here, we critically review what we consider the two major arcs of inquiry, with a specific focus on findings that were theoretically transformative. For the first arc, we briefly review classic studies that led to the canonical WM theory that cast the prefrontal cortex (PFC) as a central player utilizing persistent activity of neurons as a mechanism for memory storage. We then consider recent challenges to the theory regarding the role of persistent neural activity. The second arc, which evolved over the last decade, stemmed from sophisticated computational neuroimaging approaches enabling researchers to decode the contents of WM from the patterns of neural activity in many parts of the brain including early visual cortex. We summarize key findings from these studies, their implications for WM theory, and finally the challenges these findings pose. A comprehensive theory of WM will require a unification of these two arcs of research.

scholarly journals Persistent Activity During Working Memory From Front to Back

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clayton E. Curtis ◽  
Thomas C. Sprague
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Neural Activity ◽  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Memory Storage ◽  
Past Century ◽  
Persistent Activity ◽  
Neuroscience Research ◽  
Early Visual Cortex ◽  
High Level

Working memory (WM) extends the duration over which information is available for processing. Given its importance in supporting a wide-array of high level cognitive abilities, uncovering the neural mechanisms that underlie WM has been a primary goal of neuroscience research over the past century. Here, we critically review what we consider the two major “arcs” of inquiry, with a specific focus on findings that were theoretically transformative. For the first arc, we briefly review classic studies that led to the canonical WM theory that cast the prefrontal cortex (PFC) as a central player utilizing persistent activity of neurons as a mechanism for memory storage. We then consider recent challenges to the theory regarding the role of persistent neural activity. The second arc, which evolved over the last decade, stemmed from sophisticated computational neuroimaging approaches enabling researchers to decode the contents of WM from the patterns of neural activity in many parts of the brain including early visual cortex. We summarize key findings from these studies, their implications for WM theory, and finally the challenges these findings pose. Our goal in doing so is to identify barriers to developing a comprehensive theory of WM that will require a unification of these two “arcs” of research.

scholarly journals No Spearman’s Law of Diminishing Returns for the working memory and intelligence relationship

2016 ◽  
Vol 47 (1) ◽  
pp. 73-80
Author(s):  
Bartłomiej Kroczek ◽  
Michał Ociepka ◽  
Adam Chuderski
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Cognitive Processing ◽  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Short Term Memory ◽  
Large Data ◽  
Memory Storage ◽  
High Ability ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Crystallized Intelligence ◽  
Diminishing Returns

AbstractSpearman’s Law of Diminishing Returns (SLODR) holds that correlation between general (g)/fluid (Gf) intelligence factor and other cognitive abilities weakens with increasing ability level. Thus, cognitive processing in low ability people is most strongly saturated by g/Gf, whereas processing in high ability people depends less on g/Gf. Numerous studies demonstrated that low g is more strongly correlated with crystallized intelligence/creativity/processing speed than is high g, however no study tested an analogous effect in the case of working memory (WM). Our aim was to investigate SLODR for the relationship between Gf and WM capacity, using a large data set from our own previous studies. We tested alternative regression models separately for three types of WM tasks that tapped short-term memory storage, attention control, and relational integration, respectively. No significant SLODR effect was found for any of these tasks. Each task shared with Gf virtually the same amount of variance in the case of low- and high-ability people. This result suggests that Gf and WM rely on one and the same (neuro)cognitive mechanism.

scholarly journals Multiple forms of working memory emerge from synapse-astrocyte interactions

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maurizio De Pitta ◽  
Nicolas Brunel
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Neural Activity ◽  
Transmitter Release ◽  
Neural Population ◽  
Time Varying ◽  
Persistent Activity ◽  
Single Neurons ◽  
Multiple Forms ◽  
Neuronal Interactions ◽  
Internal States

Competing accounts propose that working memory (WM) is subserved either by persistent activity in single neurons, or by time-varying activity across a neural population, or by activity-silent mechanisms carried out by hidden internal states of the neural population. While WM is traditionally regarded to originate exclusively from neuronal interactions, cortical networks also include astrocytes that can modulate neural activity. We propose that different mechanisms of WM can be brought forth by astrocyte-mediated modulations of synaptic transmitter release. In this account, the emergence of different mechanisms depends on the network's spontaneous activity and the geometry of the connections between synapses and astrocytes.

scholarly journals Stabilized supralinear network can give rise to bistable, oscillatory, and persistent activity

2018 ◽  
Vol 115 (13) ◽  
pp. 3464-3469 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nataliya Kraynyukova ◽  
Tatjana Tchumatchenko
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Sensory Integration ◽  
Memory Storage ◽  
Unified Theory ◽  
Rhythm Generation ◽  
Persistent Activity ◽  
Cortical Circuits ◽  
Cortical Function ◽  
Neuronal Mechanisms ◽  
Exactly Solvable

A hallmark of cortical circuits is their versatility. They can perform multiple fundamental computations such as normalization, memory storage, and rhythm generation. Yet it is far from clear how such versatility can be achieved in a single circuit, given that specialized models are often needed to replicate each computation. Here, we show that the stabilized supralinear network (SSN) model, which was originally proposed for sensory integration phenomena such as contrast invariance, normalization, and surround suppression, can give rise to dynamic cortical features of working memory, persistent activity, and rhythm generation. We study the SSN model analytically and uncover regimes where it can provide a substrate for working memory by supporting two stable steady states. Furthermore, we prove that the SSN model can sustain finite firing rates following input withdrawal and present an exact connectivity condition for such persistent activity. In addition, we show that the SSN model can undergo a supercritical Hopf bifurcation and generate global oscillations. Based on the SSN model, we outline the synaptic and neuronal mechanisms underlying computational versatility of cortical circuits. Our work shows that the SSN is an exactly solvable nonlinear recurrent neural network model that could pave the way for a unified theory of cortical function.

The Impact of Working Memory Training on Cognitive Abilities in Older Adults: The Role of Cognitive Reserve

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 52-61
Author(s):  
Sara Mičič ◽  
Marina Horvat ◽  
Karin Bakracevic
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Working Memory ◽  
Executive Functioning ◽  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Cognitive Reserve ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Visual Spatial ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Experimental Group

Objectives: The aims of this study were to determine whether Working Memory (WM) training improves the cognitive functioning of older adults and to determine the role of cognitive reserve in WM training. Method: Twenty-one older adults, aged between 65 and 91 years were included in the study. Ten of them were in the experimental group and 11 in the passive control group. The experimental group underwent 15 training sessions of n-back training over a period of five weeks, whereas the control group remained passive. All participants (from the experimental and control group) were tested before the training, one week after the training, and three months after the training with Rey– Osterrieth/Taylor Complex Figure test (ROCF), Digit span, and TMT (part A and part B). Results and Conclusion: Results of our study suggest that although the experimental group slightly improved their performance on the trained task, the progress was not statistically significant. There was also no statistically significant transfer of training effects onto tasks of visual-spatial and verbal memory, as well as those related to executive functioning. However, the study did identify a statistically significant correlation between cognitive reserve and certain tests performed at the final testing: tasks measuring executive functioning and spatial ability. Results also revealed that the group that showed improvement in the training task was significantly better in the ROCF test in comparison with the group that had not improved their performance on the N-back task. Thus, visual-spatial abilities (visual perception, construction, and memory) were more connected with success in WM training, than other measured cognitive abilities (e.g. verbal and numerical memory).

scholarly journals El Pensamiento computacional: ¿Una nueva forma de entrenar la memoria de trabajo?

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (63) ◽  
Author(s):  
Eduardo Sanabria Zafra ◽  
Noelia Rodríguez Rodríguez ◽  
Andrés Eduardo Zerpa Pérez ◽  
Pedro Prieto Marañón ◽  
María Ángeles Alonso Rodríguez
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Computational Thinking ◽  
The Other ◽  
High Level ◽  
The University

El pensamiento computacional es un concepto reciente que ha cobrado importancia en los últimos años. Se ha encontrado que entrenamientos basados en este concepto, son capaces de producir mejoras en diversas funciones cognitivas. En este trabajo se ha empleado un entrenamiento basado en el pensamiento computacional elaborado por el Aula Cultural de Pensamiento Computacional y la Fundación general de la Universidad de La Laguna. El entrenamiento se aplicó a alumnos de secundaria divididos en dos grupos: un grupo que se basaba en una metodología de aprendizaje guiada y otro basado en una metodología de aprendizaje por descubrimiento. El objetivo es comprobar si el entrenamiento es capaz de producir mejoras en las medidas de memoria de trabajo y si es más beneficioso para los participantes con un nivel de memoria de trabajo alto. Los resultados obtenidos muestran que el entrenamiento, independientemente de la metodología que se aplique es capaz de producir mejoras en las diferentes medidas de memoria trabajo. Así mismo, no se encontró evidencia de que los participantes con un nivel de memoria de trabajo alto se beneficien más del entrenamiento en la mayoría de las pruebas, pero si se encontró un beneficio mayor de estos en la prueba de figuras abstractas. Computational thinking is a new concept wich has been adquiring relevance in the last few years. There are some evidence of trainings based on this new concept improving different cognitive abilities. In this paper, it has been used a training based on computational thinking, designed by “aula cultural de pensamiento computacional” and the general fundation of the University of La Laguna. This training was applied to students of secondary obligatory education who had been divided into two grups: one group recives the training with a methodology based in guide learning and the other group recived the training based on autolearning methodology. The main objective of this paper is to prove that training can improve the measures of working memory and check if the participants who have a high level of working memory take more benefits of the training. The results show that the training based on computational thinking improved the measures of working memory. In addition, there was no evidence of a higher level of benefit of the training in most of the taskes in the participants who have a high working memory level.

Temporal-Order-Based Attentional Priority Modulates Mnemonic Representations in Parietal and Frontal Cortices

2018 ◽  
Vol 29 (7) ◽  
pp. 3182-3192 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qing Yu ◽  
Won Mok Shim
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Temporal Order ◽  
Serial Order ◽  
Population Level ◽  
Detection Task ◽  
Change Detection Task ◽  
Early Visual Cortex ◽  
Recent Item ◽  
High Level ◽  
Trial Participants

Abstract The respective roles of occipital, parietal, and frontal cortices in visual working memory maintenance have long been under debate. Previous work on whether parietal and frontal regions convey mnemonic information has yielded mixed findings. One possibility for this variability is that the mnemonic representations in high-level frontoparietal regions are modulated by attentional priority, such as temporal order. To test this hypothesis, we examined whether the most recent item, which has a higher attentional priority in terms of temporal order, is preferentially encoded in frontoparietal regions. On each trial, participants viewed 2 gratings with different orientations in succession, and were cued to remember one of them. Using fMRI and an inverted encoding model, we reconstructed population-level, orientation representations in occipital (V1–V3), parietal (IPS), and frontal (FEF) areas during memory maintenance. Unlike early visual cortex where robust orientation representations were observed regardless of serial order, parietal, and frontal cortices showed stronger representations when participants remembered the second grating. A subsequent experiment using a change detection task on color rings excluded the possibilities of residual stimulus-driven signals or motor preparative signals for responses. These results suggest that mnemonic representations in parietal and frontal cortices are modulated by temporal-order-based attentional priority signals.

scholarly journals Resuming a Dynamic Task Following Increasingly Long Interruptions: The Role of Working Memory and Reconstruction

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katherine Labonté ◽  
François Vachon
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Visual Search ◽  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Working Memory Capacity ◽  
Task Context ◽  
Dynamic Task ◽  
Task Interruption ◽  
Task Resumption

Studies examining individual differences in interruption recovery have shown that higher working memory capacity (WMC) attenuated the negative impact of interruption length on resumption, at least in static contexts. In continuously evolving (or dynamic) situations, however, working memory may not be as central to the effective resumption of a task, especially in the case of long interruptions. One of the main theories of task interruption suggests that dynamic task resumption could depend on a reconstruction of the primary task context, that is, a visual examination of the post-interruption environment. To better define the role of working memory and reconstruction processes in interruption recovery, the current study examined the association between (1) dynamic task resumption following interruptions of various lengths and (2) two cognitive abilities chosen to operationalize the processes under study, namely, WMC and visual search capacity. Participants performed a multiple object tracking task which could be uninterrupted or interrupted for 5, 15, or 30 s while the hidden stimuli continued their trajectory. They also completed tasks measuring the two cognitive abilities of interest. The results revealed that WMC contributed to post-interruption accuracy regardless of interruption duration. On the contrary, visual search capacity was related to faster resumption in the 15-s and 30-s interruption conditions only. Those results show that working memory plays a preponderant role in resumption not only in static, but also in dynamic contexts. However, our study suggests that this mechanism must share the limelight with reconstruction following lengthy interruptions in dynamic settings.

scholarly journals Working Memory Beats Age: Evidence of the Influence of Working Memory on the Production of Children’s Emotional False Memories

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chiara Mirandola ◽  
Francesca Pazzaglia
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Individual Differences ◽  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
False Memories ◽  
Emotional Valence ◽  
Negative Events ◽  
Positive Events ◽  
Current Article ◽  
Children First

Emotional valence and working memory ability (WM) affect false memories’ production in adults. Whereas a number of studies have investigated the role of emotional valence in children’s tendency to produce spontaneous false memories, individual differences in WM have not been previously included. In the current article, we were interested in investigating whether emotion and WM would interact in influencing the propensity to incur inferential false memories for scripted events. Ninety-eight typically developing children (first-, third-, and eighth- graders) were administered the Emotional false memory paradigm – allowing to study false memories for negative, positive, and neutral events – and a WM task. Results showed that regardless of age, valence influenced false memories’ production, such that positive events protected against incurring distortions. Furthermore, WM interacted with valence, such that children with higher WM abilities produced fewer false memories for negative events. Concerning confidence judgments, only the youngest group of children claimed to be overconfident when committing false memories for negative and neutral events. Results are discussed in terms of the role of individual differences in higher cognitive abilities interacting with the emotional content of to-be-remembered events.

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