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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Sep 19, 2025

Translational Brain Mapping at the University of Rochester Medical Center: Preserving the Mind Through Personalized Brain Mapping
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Transformed Visual Working Memory Representations in Human Occipitotemporal and Posterior Parietal Cortices.

Yaoda Xu1

  • 1Department of Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut 06510 yaoda.xu@yale.edu.

Eneuro
|June 5, 2025
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Summary

Visual working memory (VWM) representations are transformed, not shared, between perception and VWM in the human brain. This challenges the sensory account of VWM, suggesting task-driven transformations are key.

Keywords:
fMRIoccipitotemporal cortexposterior parietal cortexvisionvisual object representationvisual short-term memoryvisual working memory

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Area of Science:

  • Cognitive Neuroscience
  • Neuroimaging
  • Human Brain Function

Background:

  • Recent fMRI studies suggest transformed representations in early visual cortex (EVC) between perception and visual working memory (VWM).
  • This contrasts with the traditional sensory account of VWM, which posits shared representations based on cross-decoding.
  • Previous inconsistencies were attributed to experimental task differences, not inherent representational distinctions.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To directly compare target and distractor representations during the VWM delay period within equated perceptual and VWM tasks.
  • To investigate whether representations for perception and VWM are shared or transformed in the human brain, particularly in the occipitotemporal cortex (OTC) and posterior parietal cortex (PPC).

Main Methods:

  • Utilized functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in human participants (both sexes).
  • Employed a task design equating perceptual and VWM task conditions to compare target and distractor representations.
  • Applied cross-decoding analyses to fMRI data from OTC (including EVC) and PPC.

Main Results:

  • Significant representational differences were found between distractors (perception) and targets (VWM) in both OTC and PPC.
  • Differences were also observed between target encoding (perception) and delay (VWM) phases.
  • Target representations were more invariant in PPC compared to OTC, suggesting regional differences in representation stability.

Conclusions:

  • The findings contradict the sensory account of VWM, supporting a task-driven transformed representation model.
  • Transformed representations, influenced by task goals and associative areas like PPC, better explain VWM function.
  • This revised understanding is crucial for comprehending VWM representation in the human brain, including the EVC.