Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

Working Memory01:24

Working Memory

149
Working memory refers to a combination of components, including short-term memory and attention, that allow an individual to hold information temporarily as we perform cognitive tasks. It is an essential cognitive function that enables the execution of complex tasks such as problem-solving, comprehension, and reasoning. Unlike short-term memory, which simply involves the storage of information for a brief period, working memory involves the active manipulation and processing of this...
149
Role of Cerebellum and Prefrontal Cortex in Memory01:14

Role of Cerebellum and Prefrontal Cortex in Memory

401
The cerebellum, while traditionally associated with motor control, also plays a crucial role in memory, particularly in procedural memory, which involves learning motor tasks that become automatic through repetition. For example, studies have shown that when the cerebellum is damaged, individuals or animals lose the ability to learn conditioned motor responses, such as the conditioned eye-blink response in classical conditioning experiments with rabbits. This study demonstrates the...
401
Storage01:23

Storage

82
A schema is a mental framework that helps individuals organize and interpret information. Schemata, formed from previous experiences, influence how we process new information: how we encode it, the inferences we make, and how we retrieve it. For instance, a schema for what a typical classroom looks like might include desks, a teacher's desk, a whiteboard, and students in such an environment. This expectation helps us quickly understand and navigate new classrooms without needing to analyze...
82
Interference and Decay01:16

Interference and Decay

119
Forgetting is a complex cognitive phenomenon influenced by several factors, among which interference and decay are particularly prominent. These processes explain why individuals often struggle to retrieve specific information from memory, leading to lapses in recall that can be observed in everyday situations.
Interference occurs when competing memories hinder the retrieval of particular information. It can be classified into two types: proactive and retroactive interference. Proactive...
119
Role of Neurotransmitters in Memory01:23

Role of Neurotransmitters in Memory

494
Neurotransmitters are integral to the brain's communication system, enabling neurons to transmit signals across synapses. This chemical exchange underpins various cognitive functions, including memory processes. The role of neurotransmitters in memory is multifaceted, influencing the encoding, consolidation, and retrieval of memories through their action on different neural circuits.
 Glutamate and Synaptic Plasticity
Glutamate, the brain's main excitatory neurotransmitter, is...
494

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Disrupted cortex-wide dynamics impair motor planning in Shank3-mutant mice.

Communications biology·2026
Same author

Internal state dynamically gates task-specific attractor dynamics in prefrontal cortex.

bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology·2026
Same author

Protracted Functional and Structural Reorganization of Human Prefrontal Cortex Supports Lateralized Category Geometries.

bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology·2026
Same author

Live Spike Sorting of Large-scale Neural Recordings.

bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology·2026
Same author

Disrupted cortex-wide dynamics impair motor planning in Shank3-mutant mice.

bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology·2026
Same author

The effects of task similarity during representation learning in brains and neural networks.

Nature communications·2025

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 17, 2025

T-maze Forced Alternation and Left-right Discrimination Tasks for Assessing Working and Reference Memory in Mice
17:45

T-maze Forced Alternation and Left-right Discrimination Tasks for Assessing Working and Reference Memory in Mice

Published on: February 26, 2012

39.9K

The neural basis of swap errors in working memory.

Matteo Alleman1, Matthew Panichello2,3, Timothy J Buschman3

  • 1Department of Neuroscience, Center for Theoretical Neuroscience and Zuckerman Mind, Brain, and Behavior Institute, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
|August 5, 2024
PubMed
Summary

Humans and animals sometimes confuse memories, making "swap errors." This study reveals these errors occur during memory selection, not encoding or storage, highlighting a fragile neural process.

Keywords:
neural populationswap errorsworking memory

More Related Videos

A Cognitive Paradigm to Investigate Interference in Working Memory by Distractions and Interruptions
10:38

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

Published on: July 16, 2015

13.6K
Operant Procedures for Assessing Behavioral Flexibility in Rats
08:30

Operant Procedures for Assessing Behavioral Flexibility in Rats

Published on: February 15, 2015

20.8K

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jun 17, 2025

T-maze Forced Alternation and Left-right Discrimination Tasks for Assessing Working and Reference Memory in Mice
17:45

T-maze Forced Alternation and Left-right Discrimination Tasks for Assessing Working and Reference Memory in Mice

Published on: February 26, 2012

39.9K
A Cognitive Paradigm to Investigate Interference in Working Memory by Distractions and Interruptions
10:38

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

Published on: July 16, 2015

13.6K
Operant Procedures for Assessing Behavioral Flexibility in Rats
08:30

Operant Procedures for Assessing Behavioral Flexibility in Rats

Published on: February 15, 2015

20.8K

Area of Science:

  • Cognitive Neuroscience
  • Neurobiology
  • Psychology

Background:

  • Humans and animals often hold multiple items in working memory.
  • Confusing remembered stimuli, particularly
  • swap errors
  • where features are misattributed, is common.
  • The neural mechanisms underlying these behavioral errors remain unknown.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To elucidate the neural mechanisms of
  • swap errors
  • in multistimulus working memory tasks.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of neural population recordings from monkeys performing two working memory tasks.
  • Monkeys were cued to report the color of an item from memory.
  • Tasks involved potential for feature misattribution between target and distractor items.

Main Results:

  • Neural correlates of
  • swap errors
  • emerged during the selection of information from working memory.
  • A distractor's feature was represented as the target's feature, leading to the error.
  • No consistent evidence for errors in cue interpretation, encoding, or storage was found.

Conclusions:

  • "Swap errors" in working memory arise during the selection process.
  • The selection of remembered information is a critical but potentially unstable neural mechanism.