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Reconciling persistent and dynamic hypotheses of working memory coding in prefrontal cortex.

Sean E Cavanagh¹, John P Towers², Joni D Wallis^3,4

¹Sobell Department of Motor Neuroscience, University College London, London WC1N 3BG, UK. sean.cavanagh.12@ucl.ac.uk.

Nature Communications

|August 31, 2018

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Working memory (WM) relies on dynamic neural population activity, not just persistent single-neuron firing. Prefrontal cortex neurons stabilize this dynamic process, especially those with high temporal stability, challenging older theories.

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Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Cognitive Neuroscience
Computational Neuroscience

Background:

Working memory (WM) theories propose either persistent single-neuron activity or dynamic population activity.
Understanding the neural basis of WM is crucial for cognitive function.

Purpose of the Study:

To compare persistent versus dynamic neural activity models of WM.
To investigate the role of prefrontal cortex (PFC) regions in WM.

Main Methods:

Oculomotor-delayed-response task with reward cues.
Analysis of neural activity in four PFC regions.
Comparison of single-neuron and population-level activity.

Main Results:

WM representations were strongest in ventrolateral PFC neurons with high intrinsic temporal stability.
Population activity reached a stable mnemonic state but was disrupted by reward cues.
Many neurons shifted from spatial to reward coding, rather than sustained WM representation.

Conclusions:

WM is supported by dynamic, population-level activity, particularly in neurons with high temporal stability.
Prefrontal cortex neurons may stabilize dynamic population processes rather than maintaining stable mnemonic representations.
Reward cues can disrupt WM maintenance by altering neural coding.