Working memory researches

Working memory researches

1. where and how the info is held in the brain ?

2. Brain damage

   • Experiment
     • delayed-response task
       • required a monkey to hold info in working memory during a delay period
         • IF prefrontal cortex (PF) is removed...
           • performance drops to chance level
             • CONCLUSION
               • (PF) cortex is important for holding info for brief periods of time
       • (Goldman-Rakic, 1992)

3. Prefrontal neurons

   • Ability to hold info (after the original stimulus is no longer present)
   • Experiment
     • Shintaro Funahashi and coworkers (1989)
     • delayed-response task.
       • nerve firing records
     • Key results...
       • NEURONS
         • responding only when the square was flashed in a particular location
         • continued responding during the delay

4. Visual cortex

   • Experiment
     • (Harrison & Tong, 2009).
       • Flashing of two oriented sample gratings
       • determining the orientation that subjects were holding in their mind
         • NEURAL MIND READING
           • Using a neural response, usually brain activation measured by fMRI, to determine what a person is perceiving or thinking.
     • RESULT
       • info about the orientation a person is remembering is being held in the visual cortex during the delay
         • CONCLUSION
           • Visual cortex is involved in working memory.

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