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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 9, 2026

Assessing Working Memory in Children: The Comprehensive Assessment Battery for Children – Working Memory (CABC-WM)

Assessing Working Memory in Children: The Comprehensive Assessment Battery for Children – Working Memory (CABC-WM)

Published on: June 12, 2017

Spike-timing theory of working memory.

Botond Szatmáry¹, Eugene M Izhikevich

¹The Neurosciences Institute, San Diego, California, United States of America.

Plos Computational Biology

|September 3, 2010

Summary

Simulations reveal that incorporating neuronal spike-timing naturally creates working memory (WM) functionality and large memory content. This model explains WM

Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Computational Neuroscience
Cognitive Science

Background:

Working memory (WM) temporarily stores and manipulates information for cognition.
WM has limited capacity but accesses vast long-term memory content.
Neuronal processing relies on precise spike timing.

Purpose of the Study:

To demonstrate how WM functionality and large memory content emerge from neuronal spike-timing.
To model the relationship between neuronal firing patterns and WM.
To explore the connection between WM and time perception.

Main Methods:

Utilized computational simulations of neuronal networks.
Incorporated spike-timing dependent plasticity (STDP) for synaptic changes.
Modeled polychronous neuronal groups (PNGs) with overlapping neuronal populations.

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A Cognitive Paradigm to Investigate Interference in Working Memory by Distractions and Interruptions

A Cognitive Paradigm to Investigate Interference in Working Memory by Distractions and Interruptions

Published on: July 16, 2015

Eye Movements in Visual Duration Perception: Disentangling Stimulus from Time in Predecisional Processes

Eye Movements in Visual Duration Perception: Disentangling Stimulus from Time in Predecisional Processes

Published on: January 19, 2024

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jun 9, 2026

Assessing Working Memory in Children: The Comprehensive Assessment Battery for Children – Working Memory (CABC-WM)

Assessing Working Memory in Children: The Comprehensive Assessment Battery for Children – Working Memory (CABC-WM)

Published on: June 12, 2017

A Cognitive Paradigm to Investigate Interference in Working Memory by Distractions and Interruptions

A Cognitive Paradigm to Investigate Interference in Working Memory by Distractions and Interruptions

Published on: July 16, 2015

Eye Movements in Visual Duration Perception: Disentangling Stimulus from Time in Predecisional Processes

Eye Movements in Visual Duration Perception: Disentangling Stimulus from Time in Predecisional Processes

Published on: January 19, 2024

Main Results:

WM functionality and large memory content spontaneously emerged in simulations.
Short-term plasticity strengthened specific PNGs, increasing their reactivation.
Simulated firing patterns mimicked in vivo recordings during WM tasks.
A novel link between WM and the perception of time (seconds) was revealed.

Conclusions:

Neuronal spike-timing is crucial for emergent WM properties.
The model provides a mechanistic explanation for WM's capacity and content.
The study links neural dynamics to subjective time perception.