scholarly journals Active information maintenance in working memory by a sensory cortex

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaoxing Zhang ◽  
Wenjun Yan ◽  
Wenliang Wang ◽  
Hongmei Fan ◽  
Ruiqing Hou ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Piriform Cortex ◽  
Delay Period ◽  
Sensory Cortex ◽  
Critical Function ◽  
Impaired Performance ◽  
Anterior Piriform Cortex ◽  
Electrophysiological Recordings ◽  
Dual Task Paradigm ◽  
The Brain

SummaryWorking memory is a critical function of the brain to maintain and manipulate information over delay periods of seconds. Sensory areas have been implicated in working memory; however, it is debated whether the delay-period activity of sensory regions is actively maintaining information or passively reflecting top-down inputs. We hereby examined the anterior piriform cortex, an olfactory cortex, in head-fixed mice performing a series of olfactory working memory tasks. Information maintenance is necessary in these tasks, especially in a dual-task paradigm in which mice are required to perform another distracting task while actively maintaining information during the delay period. Optogenetic suppression of the piriform cortex activity during the delay period impaired performance in all the tasks.Furthermore, electrophysiological recordings revealed that the delay-period activity of the anterior piriform cortex encoded odor information with or without the distracting task.Thus, this sensory cortex is critical for active information maintenance in working memory.

scholarly journals Active information maintenance in working memory by a sensory cortex

eLife ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaoxing Zhang ◽  
Wenjun Yan ◽  
Wenliang Wang ◽  
Hongmei Fan ◽  
Ruiqing Hou ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Brain Function ◽  
Piriform Cortex ◽  
Delay Period ◽  
Sensory Cortex ◽  
Impaired Performance ◽  
Anterior Piriform Cortex ◽  
Neuronal Populations ◽  
Electrophysiological Recordings ◽  
Dual Task Paradigm

Working memory is a critical brain function for maintaining and manipulating information over delay periods of seconds. It is debated whether delay-period neural activity in sensory regions is important for the active maintenance of information during the delay period. Here, we tackle this question by examining the anterior piriform cortex (APC), an olfactory sensory cortex, in head-fixed mice performing several olfactory working memory tasks. Active information maintenance is necessary in these tasks, especially in a dual-task paradigm in which mice are required to perform another distracting task while actively maintaining information during the delay period. Optogenetic suppression of neuronal activity in APC during the delay period impaired performance in all the tasks. Furthermore, electrophysiological recordings revealed that APC neuronal populations encoded odor information in the delay period even with an intervening distracting task. Thus, delay activity in APC is important for active information maintenance in olfactory working memory.

scholarly journals Striatum-projecting prefrontal cortex neurons support working memory maintenance

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Chernysheva ◽  
Yaroslav Sych ◽  
Aleksejs Fomins ◽  
José Luis Alatorre Warren ◽  
Christopher Lewis ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Prefrontal Cortex ◽  
Delay Period ◽  
Projection Neurons ◽  
Receptor Blockade ◽  
Impaired Performance ◽  
Cellular Resolution ◽  
Nmda Receptor Blockade ◽  
Pathway Function ◽  
Freely Moving

ABSTRACTThe medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and the dorsomedial striatum (dmStr) are linked to working memory (WM) but how striatum-projecting mPFC neurons contribute to WM encoding, maintenance, or retrieval remains unclear. Here, we probed mPFC→dmStr pathway function in freely-moving mice during a T-maze alternation test of spatial WM. Fiber photometry of GCaMP6m-labeled mPFC→dmStr projection neurons revealed strongest activity during the delay period that requires WM maintenance. Demonstrating causality, optogenetic inhibition of mPFC→dmStr neurons only during the delay period impaired performance. Conversely, enhancing mPFC→dmStr pathway activity—via pharmacological suppression of HCN1 or by optogenetic activation during the delay— alleviated WM impairment induced by NMDA receptor blockade. Consistently, cellular-resolution miniscope imaging resolved preferred activation of >50% mPFC→dmStr neurons during WM maintenance. This subpopulation was distinct from neurons showing preference for encoding and retrieval. In all periods, including the delay, neuronal sequences were evident. Striatum-projecting mPFC neurons thus critically contribute to spatial WM maintenance.

scholarly journals Singing in the Brain

2021 ◽  
Vol 38 (5) ◽  
pp. 456-472
Author(s):  
Callula Killingly ◽  
Philippe Lacherez ◽  
Renata Meuter
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Lexical Decision ◽  
Lexical Decision Task ◽  
Dual Task ◽  
Sense Of Agency ◽  
Decision Task ◽  
Intrusive Thought ◽  
Dual Task Paradigm ◽  
Unconscious Desire ◽  
The Brain

Music that gets “stuck” in the head is commonly conceptualized as an intrusive “thought”; however, we argue that this experience is better characterized as automatic mental singing without an accompanying sense of agency. In two experiments, a dual-task paradigm was employed, in which participants undertook a phonological task once while hearing music, and then again in silence following its presentation. We predicted that the music would be maintained in working memory, interfering with the task. Experiment 1 (N = 30) used songs predicted to be more or less catchy; half of the sample heard truncated versions. Performance was indeed poorer following catchier songs, particularly if the songs were unfinished. Moreover, the effect was stronger for songs rated higher in terms of the desire to sing along. Experiment 2 (N = 50) replicated the effect using songs with which the participants felt compelled to sing along. Additionally, results from a lexical decision task indicated that many participants’ keystrokes synchronized with the tempo of the song just heard. Together, these findings suggest that an earworm results from an unconscious desire to sing along to a familiar song.

scholarly journals The causal role of auditory cortex in auditory working memory

eLife ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liping Yu ◽  
Jiawei Hu ◽  
Chenlin Shi ◽  
Li Zhou ◽  
Maozhi Tian ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Auditory Cortex ◽  
Neural Activity ◽  
Functional Role ◽  
Delay Period ◽  
Causal Role ◽  
Information Encoding ◽  
Electrophysiological Recordings ◽  
Sensory Cortices

Working memory (WM), the ability to actively hold information in memory over a delay period of seconds, is a fundamental constituent of cognition. Delay-period activity in sensory cortices has been observed in WM tasks, but whether and when the activity plays a functional role for memory maintenance remains unclear. Here we investigated the causal role of auditory cortex (AC) for memory maintenance in mice performing an auditory WM task. Electrophysiological recordings revealed that AC neurons were active not only during the presentation of the auditory stimulus but also early in the delay period. Furthermore, optogenetic suppression of neural activity in AC during the stimulus epoch and early delay period impaired WM performance, whereas suppression later in the delay period did not. Thus, AC is essential for information encoding and maintenance in auditory WM task, especially during the early delay period.

scholarly journals Differential serotonergic modulation of principal neurons and interneurons in the anterior piriform cortex

2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Magor L Lőrincz ◽  
Ildikó Piszár
Keyword(s):  
Piriform Cortex ◽  
Sensory Information ◽  
Olfactory Cortex ◽  
Anterior Piriform Cortex ◽  
Electrophysiological Recordings ◽  
Primary Olfactory Cortex ◽  
Brainstem Raphe ◽  
Evoked Activity ◽  
Sensory Evoked

Originating from the brainstem raphe nuclei, serotonin is an important neuromodulator involved in a variety of physiological and pathological functions. Specific optogenetic stimulation of serotonergic neurons results in the divisive suppression of spontaneous, but not sensory evoked activity in the majority of neurons in the primary olfactory cortex and an increase in firing in a minority of neurons. To reveal the mechanisms involved in this dual serotonergic control of cortical activity we used a combination of in vitro electrophysiological recordings from identified neurons in the primary olfactory cortex, optogenetics and pharmacology and found that serotonin suppressed the activity of principal neurons, but excited local interneurons. The results have important implications in sensory information processing and other functions of the olfactory cortex and related brain areas.

The art of planning ahead: when do we prepare for the future and when is it effective? (under review)

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefan Huijser ◽  
Niels Anne Taatgen ◽  
Marieke K. van Vugt
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Dual Task ◽  
Task Difficulty ◽  
Memory Load ◽  
Working Memory Load ◽  
Task Preparation ◽  
Memory Integration ◽  
The Future ◽  
Dual Task Paradigm ◽  
Consistent Support

Preparing for the future during ongoing activities is an essential skill. Yet, it is currently unclear to what extent we can prepare for the future in parallel with another task. In two experiments, we investigated how characteristics of a present task influenced whether and when participants prepared for the future, as well as its usefulness. We focused on the influence of concurrent working memory load, assuming that working memory would interfere most strongly with preparation. In both experiments, participants performed a novel sequential dual-task paradigm, in which they could voluntary prepare for a second task while performing a first task. We identified task preparation by means of eye tracking, through detecting when participants switched their gaze from the first to the second task. The results showed that participants prepared productively, as evidenced by faster RTs on the second task, with only a small cost to the present task. The probability of preparation and its productiveness decreased with general increases in present task difficulty. In contrast to our prediction, we found some but no consistent support for influence of concurrent working memory load on preparation. Only for concurrent high working memory load (i.e., two items in memory), we observed strong interference with preparation. We conclude that preparation is affected by present task difficulty, potentially due to decreased opportunities for preparation and changes in multitasking strategy. Furthermore, the interference from holding two items may reflect that concurrent preparation is compromised when working memory integration is required by both processes.

Revision Targeted Muscle Reinnervation Improves Secondary Pain Insult in an Upper Extremity Amputee: A Case Report

Hand ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 155894472199246
Author(s):  
David D. Rivedal ◽  
Meng Guo ◽  
James Sanger ◽  
Aaron Morgan
Keyword(s):  
Neuropathic Pain ◽  
Peripheral Nerves ◽  
Nerve Biopsy ◽  
Sensory Cortex ◽  
Denervated Muscle ◽  
Unique Case ◽  
Targeted Muscle Reinnervation ◽  
Muscle Reinnervation ◽  
And Function ◽  
The Brain

Targeted muscle reinnervation (TMR) has been shown to improve phantom and neuropathic pain in both the acute and chronic amputee population. Through rerouting of major peripheral nerves into a newly denervated muscle, TMR harnesses the plasticity of the brain, helping to revert the sensory cortex back toward the preinsult state, effectively reducing pain. We highlight a unique case of an above-elbow amputee for sarcoma who was initially treated with successful transhumeral TMR. Following inadvertent nerve biopsy of a TMR coaptation site, his pain returned, and he was unable to don his prosthetic. Revision of his TMR to a more proximal level was performed, providing improved pain and function of the amputated arm. This is the first report to highlight the concept of secondary neuroplasticity and successful proximal TMR revision in the setting of multiple insults to the same extremity.

Syntactic Dependencies as Memorized Sequences in the Brain

2005 ◽  
Vol 50 (1-4) ◽  
pp. 241-266 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yosef Grodzinsky
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Inferior Frontal Gyrus ◽  
Functional Neuroanatomy ◽  
Left Inferior Frontal Gyrus ◽  
Broca’S Region ◽  
Syntactic Representation ◽  
Syntactic Approach ◽  
Syntactic Relations ◽  
Syntactic Dependencies ◽  
The Brain

AbstractThe prospects of a cognitive neuroscience of syntax are considered with respect to functional neuroanatomy of two seemingly independent systems: Working Memory and syntactic representation and processing. It is proposed that these two systems are more closely related than previously supposed. In particular, it is claimed that a sentence with anaphoric dependencies involves several Working Memories, each entrusted with a different linguistic function. Components of Working Memory reside in the Left Inferior Frontal Gyrus, which is associated with Broca’s region. When lesioned, this area manifests comprehension disruptions in the ability to analyze intra-sentential dependencies, suggesting that Working Memory spans over syntactic computations. The unification of considerations regarding Working Memory with a purely syntactic approach to Broca’s regions leads to the conclusion that mechanisms that compute transformations—and no other syntactic relations—reside in this area.

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