NSF-SNSF: Clarifying the cognitive role of neurally active representations in working memory

The goal of the project is to advance the understanding of the neural and behavioral underpinnings of working memory, an “online” memory system that holds information in a readily accessible state to guide ongoing behavior. Individuals with better working memory abilities excel in tests of fluid intelligence, scholastic achievement, and broad measures of attentional efficiency.

Many models of complex cognition acknowledge the central importance of working memory for the ability to exert voluntary control over which aspects of a busy environment will occupy the mind. Thus, better neural and behavioral models of working memory function are important for understanding a wide range of intelligent behaviors. This collaborative effort is made possible through the National Science Foundation and Swiss National Science Foundation Lead Agency Opportunity.

One important advance has been the identification of neural signals in humans that track storage in working memory. For example, by applying machine learning and other analytic approaches to electroencephalogram (EEG) recordings of brain activity, both the number and type of visual objects stored in working memory can be tracked with relatively high temporal resolution.

Approaches like this have been powerful tools for building neural models of working memory, but basic questions remain regarding the specific computational role of these neurally active representations. For example, recent work has shown that even when neural signals associated with storage in working memory are temporarily silenced, there is evidence for preserved storage in working memory, suggesting that persistent neurally active representations may not be needed for working memory storage.

The project aims to test an alternative hypothesis that neurally active storage may serve as a gateway to passive forms of memory that can endure without requiring persistent neurally active representations. In addition, the project aims to examine whether there are specific operations that require neurally active representations, such as the active manipulation of the stored information.

Thus, the goal is to improve the understanding of how neural activity related to working memory supports the ability to hold relevant information in the focus of attention.

This collaborative U.S.-Swiss project is supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF), where NSF funds the U.S. investigator and SNSF funds the partners in Switzerland.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.