Neural activity predicts individual differences in visual working memory capacity

Contrary to our rich phenomenological visual experience, our visual short-term memory system can maintain representations of only three to four objects at any given moment. For over a century, the capacity of visual memory has been shown to vary substantially across individuals, ranging from 1.5 to about 5 objects. Although numerous studies have recently begun to characterize the neural substrates of visual memory processes, a neurophysiological index of storage capacity limitations has not yet been established. Here, we provide electrophysiological evidence for lateralized activity in humans that reflects the encoding and maintenance of items in visual memory. The amplitude of this activity is strongly modulated by the number of objects being held in the memory at the time, but approaches a limit asymptotically for arrays that meet or exceed storage capacity. Indeed, the precise limit is determined by each individual's memory capacity, such that the activity from low-capacity individuals reaches this plateau much sooner than that from high-capacity individuals. Consequently, this measure provides a strong neurophysiological predictor of an individual's capacity, allowing the demonstration of a direct relationship between neural activity and memory capacity.     

刺激属性在基于工作记忆表征的视觉注意中的作用

工作记忆表征能否自上而下地引导视觉注意选择,目前研究结果尚存在争议,而导致争议结果的原因亦不清晰.为了探究导致以往研究中有无发现引导效应的关键因素,该研究设计3个实验,要求被试在工作记忆储存任务的过程中完成一个视觉搜索任务,实验1与3的结果发现,当工作记忆表征包含可引导注意的属性时,不管视觉搜索靶子是否变化,该记忆表征都会引导注意偏向到视觉情境中与之匹配的干扰刺激,而实验2中的工作记忆表征不包含可有效引导注意的属性时,即使采用变化靶子的视觉搜索类型,也没有发现引导效应.此结果表明基于工作记忆表征的注意引导效应是否出现在一定程度上取决于该表征是否包含可有效引导注意的属性,而非视觉搜索类型.     

Spontaneously emerging cortical representations of visual attributes

Spontaneous cortical activity--ongoing activity in the absence of intentional sensory input--has been studied extensively, using methods ranging from EEG (electroencephalography), through voltage sensitive dye imaging, down to recordings from single neurons. Ongoing cortical activity has been shown to play a critical role in development, and must also be essential for processing sensory perception, because it modulates stimulus-evoked activity, and is correlated with behaviour. Yet its role in the processing of external information and its relationship to internal representations of sensory attributes remains unknown. Using voltage sensitive dye imaging, we previously established a close link between ongoing activity in the visual cortex of anaesthetized cats and the spontaneous firing of a single neuron. Here we report that such activity encompasses a set of dynamically switching cortical states, many of which correspond closely to orientation maps. When such an orientation state emerged spontaneously, it spanned several hypercolumns and was often followed by a state corresponding to a proximal orientation. We suggest that dynamically switching cortical states could represent the brain's internal context, and therefore reflect or influence memory, perception and behaviour.     

Neuronal basis of age-related working memory decline

Many of the cognitive deficits of normal ageing (forgetfulness, distractibility, inflexibility and impaired executive functions) involve prefrontal cortex (PFC) dysfunction. The PFC guides behaviour and thought using working memory, which are essential functions in the information age. Many PFC neurons hold information in working memory through excitatory networks that can maintain persistent neuronal firing in the absence of external stimulation. This fragile process is highly dependent on the neurochemical environment. For example, elevated cyclic-AMP signalling reduces persistent firing by opening HCN and KCNQ potassium channels. It is not known if molecular changes associated with normal ageing alter the physiological properties of PFC neurons during working memory, as there have been no in vivo recordings, to our knowledge, from PFC neurons of aged monkeys. Here we characterize the first recordings of this kind, revealing a marked loss of PFC persistent firing with advancing age that can be rescued by restoring an optimal neurochemical environment. Recordings showed an age-related decline in the firing rate of DELAY neurons, whereas the firing of CUE neurons remained unchanged with age. The memory-related firing of aged DELAY neurons was partially restored to more youthful levels by inhibiting cAMP signalling, or by blocking HCN or KCNQ channels. These findings reveal the cellular basis of age-related cognitive decline in dorsolateral PFC, and demonstrate that physiological integrity can be rescued by addressing the molecular needs of PFC circuits.     

Interactions between working memory and selective attention

Event-related potential (ERP) was used to examine the interactions between working memory and se- lective attention. We combined two unrelated tasks, one requiring working memory and the other se- lective attention, which were performed by some undergraduates. The ERP results revealed that both congruent and incongruent stimuli in the selective attention task evoked an N400 component, reaching the peak point at around 500 ms. The N400 evoked by incongruent stimuli was more negative than that of congruent, which indicated the difference of semantic N400. Furthermore, working memory load had a significant influence on the N400 evoked by selective attention task in parietal region. And working memory load showed difference in the ERPs of working memory retrieval in central and parietal regions. The ERPs of probe under high working memory load were more positive from 350 to 550 ms post-stimulus; however, stimulus type of selective attention had no influence on working memory re- trieval. The present study shows that working memory does not play a major role in the selective at- tention, especially in ignoring distracter, but it influences the performance of the selective attention as the background. The congruency of target and distracter in the selective attention task does not influ- ence the working memory retrieval.     

An event-related potential study of working memory in children

Working memory refers to temporary storage and manipulation of “on-line” information in the brain,which is central to a large range of cognitive capabili- ties[1]. Visual working memory involves processes such as maintaining, updating and manipulating b…     

Developmental plasticity in the visual and auditory representations in the mammalian superior colliculus

Environmental factors play an important role in certain aspects of the development of sensory systems. But the way in which the maturation of different sensory modalities is coordinated is poorly understood. We have investigated this question neurophysiologically in the mammalian superior colliculus (SC), which contains topographically aligned maps of visual and auditory space. We report here that an essentially normal auditory map, in approximate register with the visual map, is found in the SC of adult ferrets reared with abnormal binaural localization cues. Also, if, early in life, one eye is deviated laterally, there is a compensatory shift in the auditory map, but early eye rotation totally disorders the auditory representation. These results imply that development of the auditory map is affected by visual activity or by information about eye position and that there is definite, but limited, capacity for the auditory map to reorganize so that it remains aligned with the visual map.     

A dual working mode mobile robot system based on visual guiding and visual servoing

A dual operational modes mobile robot system based on visual guiding and visual servo control is presented.This system consists of a mobile robot with a two-axis manipulator and a tele-operation station.In the visual guiding mode,for the robot works in an open loop visual servo control mode,the manipulating burden of the operator is reduced largely.In the visual servo mode the robot can locate the position of the target assigned by the operator and pick it up by its manipulator.With the help of the operator,the difficult problems of finding and handling a target in a complicated environment by the robot Can be solved easily.     

Prefrontal attention and multiple reference frames during working memory in primates

The prefrontal cortex (PFC) is responsible for executive functions, including planning, goal setting, problem solving, inhibitory control, monitoring, and action adjusting. Executive functions also include selective attention and the flexibility or switching of attention; therefore, attention is an executive function in which the PFC participates. Working memory (WM), which is the temporary maintenance and processing of particular information, is usually considered to be a basic neural mechanism underlying the executive functions. This review systematically discusses the relationship between the prefrontal WM and attention and emphasizes two forms of prefrontal attention. The first form occurs in the dlPFC, which encodes the location of objects with respect to the position of the head, thereby providing a frame of reference from which the focus of attention can be centered. The second occurs in the inferior convexity of the prefrontal cortex (IFC), which encodes the different attributes (shape, texture, color) of objects to enable the ability to focus on one or to switch attention between sensory attributes of objects.     

Neural measures reveal individual differences in controlling access to working memory

The capacity of visual short-term memory is highly limited, maintaining only three to four objects simultaneously. This extreme limitation necessitates efficient mechanisms to select only the most relevant objects from the immediate environment to be represented in memory and to restrict irrelevant items from consuming capacity. Here we report a neurophysiological measure of this memory selection mechanism in humans that gauges an individual's efficiency at excluding irrelevant items from being stored in memory. By examining the moment-by-moment contents of visual memory, we observe that selection efficiency varies substantially across individuals and is strongly predicted by the particular memory capacity of each person. Specifically, high capacity individuals are much more efficient at representing only the relevant items than are low capacity individuals, who inefficiently encode and maintain information about the irrelevant items present in the display. These results provide evidence that under many circumstances low capacity individuals may actually store more information in memory than high capacity individuals. Indeed, this ancillary allocation of memory capacity to irrelevant objects may be a primary source of putative differences in overall storage capacity.     

Neuronal correlates of parametric working memory in the prefrontal cortex.

Humans and monkeys have similar abilities to discriminate the difference in frequency between two mechanical vibrations applied sequentially to the fingertips. A key component of this sensory task is that the second stimulus is compared with the trace left by the first (base) stimulus, which must involve working memory. Where and how is this trace held in the brain? This question was investigated by recording from single neurons in the prefrontal cortex of monkeys while they performed the somatosensory discrimination task. Here we describe neurons in the inferior convexity of the prefrontal cortex whose discharge rates varied, during the delay period between the two stimuli, as a monotonic function of the base stimulus frequency. We describe this as 'monotonic stimulus encoding', and we suggest that the result may generalize: monotonic stimulus encoding may be the basic representation of one-dimensional sensory stimulus quantities in working memory. Thus we predict that other behavioural tasks that require ordinal comparisons between scalar analogue stimuli would give rise to monotonic responses similar to those reported here.     

前额叶Gamma频段tACS对工作记忆影响的研究

基于行为学与脑电(Electroencephalogram EEG) 特征评估40Hz经颅交流电刺激（transcranial alternating current stimulation, tACS）对工作记忆的影响,进一步探究40Hz经颅交流电刺激对脑电与认知功能的调节作用。选取34名被试,并在伪刺激或真刺激后参与工作记忆任务,同时采集被试的行为学数据与脑电数据,最终通过MATLAB与SPSS-26.0进行数据分析,得出40Hz经颅交流电刺激对脑电、行为学数据指标的影响。通过数据分析发现事件相关电位中P3a成分与P3b成分的幅值在不同刺激、不同任务量下表现出显著性,且被试在真刺激后顶叶区的theta-gamma相位幅值耦合显著提升。因此可以得出40Hz经颅交流电刺激使得事件相关电位(Event-related potential, ERP)相关成分幅值有显著变化,且能显著提升被试脑内的相位幅值耦合程度,从而提升了专注度,进而显著提升工作记忆的能力,使得相关行为学数据显著提高。     

抑郁症患者工作记忆与血清微量元素相关性

目的:探索抑郁症患者工作记忆损害及其与血清微量元素的关系.方法:采用数字广度、数字2-back、视觉再生及数字-符号转换测试方法,评估30例符合美国精神障碍统计与诊断手册第4版(DSM-IV)诊断标准的抑郁症患者(患者组)和30例健康志愿者(对照组)的工作记忆,同时,检测两组研究对象的血清钙、磷、镁、铜、锌和铁六种微量元素与工作记忆之间的相关性.结果:抑郁症患者数字广度(顺背、倒背、总分)、数字2-back(正确率、反应时)和数字-符号测试成绩显著低于正常对照组(P0.05),差异有统计学意义;抑郁症组血清中铜含量明显高于对照组,差异具有显著性(P0.05);数字2-back任务正确率和视觉再生测验得分与镁离子含量呈正相关;数字-符号测验得分与铜离子含量呈正相关;视觉再生测验得分与锌离子含量呈负相关.其他工作记忆测试成绩与离子无相关.结论:抑郁症患者确实存在工作记忆的缺陷,主要体现在工作记忆容量变小,言语工作记忆及中央执行系统功能受损;且抑郁症工作记忆损害可能与血清微量元素锌、铜、镁离子浓度密切相关.     

视听工作记忆的相位同步与跨频耦合研究

为了深入了解视听工作记忆中的神经机制和节律耦合规律,采集了视听工作记忆任务脑电数据,通过时频分析确定关键节律及核心电极,并使用多变量模式分析确定关键时间段。theta相位同步在记忆呈现期至关重要,其中额颞叶同步参与听觉记忆,额顶叶同步参与视觉记忆,而theta和alpha的跨频耦合只在特定记忆模态的相关脑区有显著增强。工作记忆任务相关脑区通过远端theta同步协调中央执行功能,alpha同步协调记忆存储缓冲功能,theta-alpha耦合整合不同模态功能间的信息,揭示了视听模态工作记忆的部分神经机制。     

Capacity limit of visual short-term memory in human posterior parietal cortex

At any instant, our visual system allows us to perceive a rich and detailed visual world. Yet our internal, explicit representation of this visual world is extremely sparse: we can only hold in mind a minute fraction of the visual scene. These mental representations are stored in visual short-term memory (VSTM). Even though VSTM is essential for the execution of a wide array of perceptual and cognitive functions, and is supported by an extensive network of brain regions, its storage capacity is severely limited. With the use of functional magnetic resonance imaging, we show here that this capacity limit is neurally reflected in one node of this network: activity in the posterior parietal cortex is tightly correlated with the limited amount of scene information that can be stored in VSTM. These results suggest that the posterior parietal cortex is a key neural locus of our impoverished mental representation of the visual world.     

Distinct memory traces for two visual features in the Drosophila brain

The fly Drosophila melanogaster can discriminate and remember visual landmarks. It analyses selected parts of its visual environment according to a small number of pattern parameters such as size, colour or contour orientation, and stores particular parameter values. Like humans, flies recognize patterns independently of the retinal position during acquisition of the pattern (translation invariance). Here we show that the central-most part of the fly brain, the fan-shaped body, contains parts of a network mediating visual pattern recognition. We have identified short-term memory traces of two pattern parameters--elevation in the panorama and contour orientation. These can be localized to two groups of neurons extending branches as parallel, horizontal strata in the fan-shaped body. The central location of this memory store is well suited to mediate translational invariance.     

Dissociable neural mechanisms supporting visual short-term memory for objects

Using visual information to guide behaviour requires storage in a temporary buffer, known as visual short-term memory (VSTM), that sustains attended information across saccades and other visual interruptions. There is growing debate on whether VSTM capacity is limited to a fixed number of objects or whether it is variable. Here we report four experiments using functional magnetic resonance imaging that resolve this controversy by dissociating the representation capacities of the parietal and occipital cortices. Whereas representations in the inferior intra-parietal sulcus (IPS) are fixed to about four objects at different spatial locations regardless of object complexity, those in the superior IPS and the lateral occipital complex are variable, tracking the number of objects held in VSTM, and representing fewer than four objects as their complexity increases. These neural response patterns were observed during both VSTM encoding and maintenance. Thus, multiple systems act together to support VSTM: whereas the inferior IPS maintains spatial attention over a fixed number of objects at different spatial locations, the superior IPS and the lateral occipital complex encode and maintain a variable subset of the attended objects, depending on their complexity. VSTM capacity is therefore determined both by a fixed number of objects and by object complexity.