Dynamics Are the Only Constant in Working Memory

Kirsten C S Adam; Rosanne L Rademaker; John T Serences

doi:10.1162/jocn_a_01941

Dynamics Are the Only Constant in Working Memory

J Cogn Neurosci. 2022 Dec 1;35(1):24-26. doi: 10.1162/jocn_a_01941.

Authors

Kirsten C S Adam¹, Rosanne L Rademaker², John T Serences¹

Affiliations

¹ University of California, San Diego.
² Ernst Strüngmann Institute for Neuroscience in cooperation with the Max Planck Society, Frankfurt, Germany.

Abstract

In this short perspective, we reflect upon our tendency to use oversimplified and idiosyncratic tasks in a quest to discover general mechanisms of working memory. We discuss how the work of Mark Stokes and collaborators has looked beyond localized, temporally persistent neural activity and shifted focus toward the importance of distributed, dynamic neural codes for working memory. A critical lesson from this work is that using simplified tasks does not automatically simplify the neural computations supporting behavior (even if we wish it were so). Moreover, Stokes' insights about multidimensional dynamics highlight the flexibility of the neural codes underlying cognition and have pushed the field to look beyond static measures of working memory.

Publication types

Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

Cognition*
Humans
Memory, Short-Term*

Grants and funding

R01 EY025872/EY/NEI NIH HHS/United States