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A Cognitive Paradigm to Investigate Interference in Working Memory by Distractions and Interruptions
Published on: July 16, 2015
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Volatile working memory representations crystallize with practice.
Arash Bellafard1, Ghazal Namvar2, Jonathan C Kao3
1Department of Neurology, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA. bellafard@ucla.edu.
Nature
|May 15, 2024
Summary
Working memory representations in the mouse secondary motor cortex (M2) emerge during learning and stabilize with expert performance. This study reveals how neuronal activity evolves for effective working memory.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cognitive Science
- Systems Neuroscience
Background:
- Working memory is crucial for cognitive functions, involving transient information maintenance and manipulation.
- Mechanisms of neuronal population representations for working memory over time are not fully understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the generation and evolution of working memory neuronal representations.
- To identify mechanisms underlying population-level activity in working memory tasks.
Main Methods:
- Mice trained on an olfactory delayed-association task.
- Optogenetic inhibition of secondary motor neurons.
- Mesoscopic and volumetric calcium imaging of neuronal populations in M2, RSA, and M1.
Main Results:
- Late-delay epoch-selective neurons emerged in M2 during task learning.
- Working memory decoding accuracy improved significantly in M2 with expertise.
- Delay-related activity in M2 drifted during early learning and stabilized with expert practice.
Conclusions:
- Neuronal representations essential for working memory performance undergo dynamic changes during learning.
- Stabilization of working memory representations in M2 occurs after extended expert performance.
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