The neural basis of swap errors in working memory

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Journal Year: 2024, Volume and Issue: 121(33)

Published: Aug. 5, 2024

When making decisions in a cluttered world, humans and other animals often have to hold multiple items memory at once—such as the different on shopping list. Psychophysical experiments shown remembered stimuli can sometimes become confused, with participants reporting chimeric composed of features from stimuli. In particular, subjects will make “swap errors” where they misattribute feature one object belonging another object. While swap errors been described behaviorally theoretical explanations proposed, their neural mechanisms are unknown. Here, we elucidate these by analyzing population recordings monkeys performing two multistimulus working tasks. tasks, were cued report color an item that either was previously corresponding location or be location. Animals made both data, find evidence correlates emerged when correctly information is selected memory. This led representation distractor if it target color, underlying eventual error. We did not consistent arose misinterpretation cue during encoding storage These results provide emerge selection memory, highlight this crucial—yet surprisingly brittle—neural process.

Language: Английский

Episodic recruitment of attractor dynamics in frontal cortex reveals distinct mechanisms for forgetting and lack of cognitive control in short-term memory

bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory), Journal Year: 2024, Volume and Issue: unknown

Published: Feb. 21, 2024

ABSTRACT Short-term memory (STM) is prone to failure, especially during prolonged maintenance or under limited cognitive control. Despite predictive mechanistic frameworks based on persistent neural activity and attractor states, a direct assessment of network dynamics multifactorial STM failure still missing. We addressed this in delayed-response task where mice maintained prospective response long variable delay. Mice behavior episodically switched between task-engaged state described by an model, task-disengaged purely determined previous choices. During engagement, the anterolateral motor cortex (ALM) showed delay stably encoding correct choices, whereas reversed error trials. In contrast, phases ALM no clear traces instead exhibited enhanced synchrony at ∼ 4-5Hz. Thus, switches distinct error-generating dynamics: control-capable trials, transitions attractors cause forgetting errors, non-memory errors are caused dissociation mnemonic period reflecting lack

Language: Английский