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Updated: May 3, 2026

Combined Shuttle-Box Training with Electrophysiological Cortex Recording and Stimulation as a Tool to Study Perception and Learning
Published on: October 22, 2015
Does stimulus complexity determine whether working memory storage relies on prefrontal or sensory cortex?
Tyler D Bancroft1, William E Hockley, Philip Servos
1Department of Psychology, Wilfrid Laurier University, 75 University Avenue West, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, N2L 3C5, banc6110@mylaurier.ca.
Abstract:
Traditionally, working and short-term memory (WM/STM) have been believed to rely on storage systems located in prefrontal cortex (PFC). However, recent experimental and theoretical efforts have suggested that, in many cases, sensory or other task-relevant cortex is the actual storage substrate for WM/STM. What factors determine whether a given WM/STM task relies on PFC or sensory cortex? In the present article, we outline recent experimental findings and suggest that the dimensionality or complexity of the to-be-remembered property or properties of a stimulus can be a determining factor.
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