1
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Monov G, Stein H, Klock L, Gallinat J, Kühn S, Lincoln T, Krkovic K, Murphy PR, Donner TH. Linking Cognitive Integrity to Working Memory Dynamics in the Aging Human Brain. J Neurosci 2024; 44:e1883232024. [PMID: 38760163 PMCID: PMC11211717 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.1883-23.2024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/26/2023] [Revised: 04/13/2024] [Accepted: 04/18/2024] [Indexed: 05/19/2024] Open
Abstract
Aging is accompanied by a decline of working memory, an important cognitive capacity that involves stimulus-selective neural activity that persists after stimulus presentation. Here, we unraveled working memory dynamics in older human adults (male and female) including those diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) using a combination of behavioral modeling, neuropsychological assessment, and MEG recordings of brain activity. Younger adults (male and female) were studied with behavioral modeling only. Participants performed a visuospatial delayed match-to-sample task under systematic manipulation of the delay and distance between sample and test stimuli. Their behavior (match/nonmatch decisions) was fit with a computational model permitting the dissociation of noise in the internal operations underlying the working memory performance from a strategic decision threshold. Task accuracy decreased with delay duration and sample/test proximity. When sample/test distances were small, older adults committed more false alarms than younger adults. The computational model explained the participants' behavior well. The model parameters reflecting internal noise (not decision threshold) correlated with the precision of stimulus-selective cortical activity measured with MEG during the delay interval. The model uncovered an increase specifically in working memory noise in older compared with younger participants. Furthermore, in the MCI group, but not in the older healthy controls, internal noise correlated with the participants' clinically assessed cognitive integrity. Our results are consistent with the idea that the stability of working memory contents deteriorates in aging, in a manner that is specifically linked to the overall cognitive integrity of individuals diagnosed with MCI.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gina Monov
- Section of Computational Cognitive Neuroscience, Department of Neurophysiology & Pathophysiology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg 20246, Germany
| | - Henrik Stein
- Department of Psychiatry, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg 20246, Germany
| | - Leonie Klock
- Department of Psychiatry, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg 20246, Germany
| | - Juergen Gallinat
- Department of Psychiatry, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg 20246, Germany
| | - Simone Kühn
- Department of Psychiatry, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg 20246, Germany
| | - Tania Lincoln
- Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Institute of Psychology, University of Hamburg, Hamburg 20146, Germany
| | - Katarina Krkovic
- Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Institute of Psychology, University of Hamburg, Hamburg 20146, Germany
| | - Peter R Murphy
- Section of Computational Cognitive Neuroscience, Department of Neurophysiology & Pathophysiology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg 20246, Germany
- Department of Psychology, Maynooth University, Co. Kildare, Ireland
| | - Tobias H Donner
- Section of Computational Cognitive Neuroscience, Department of Neurophysiology & Pathophysiology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg 20246, Germany
- Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience, Charité Universitätsmedizin, Berlin 10115, Germany
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2
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Mahrach A, Bestue D, Qi XL, Constantinidis C, Compte A. Cholinergic Neuromodulation of Prefrontal Attractor Dynamics Controls Performance in Spatial Working Memory. J Neurosci 2024; 44:e1225232024. [PMID: 38641409 PMCID: PMC11154852 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.1225-23.2024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2023] [Revised: 03/06/2024] [Accepted: 03/08/2024] [Indexed: 04/21/2024] Open
Abstract
The behavioral and neural effects of the endogenous release of acetylcholine following stimulation of the nucleus basalis (NB) of Meynert have been recently examined in two male monkeys (Qi et al., 2021). Counterintuitively, NB stimulation enhanced behavioral performance while broadening neural tuning in the prefrontal cortex (PFC). The mechanism by which a weaker mnemonic neural code could lead to better performance remains unclear. Here, we show that increased neural excitability in a simple continuous bump attractor model can induce broader neural tuning and decrease bump diffusion, provided neural rates are saturated. Increased memory precision in the model overrides memory accuracy, improving overall task performance. Moreover, we show that bump attractor dynamics can account for the nonuniform impact of neuromodulation on distractibility, depending on distractor distance from the target. Finally, we delve into the conditions under which bump attractor tuning and diffusion balance in biologically plausible heterogeneous network models. In these discrete bump attractor networks, we show that reducing spatial correlations or enhancing excitatory transmission can improve memory precision. Altogether, we provide a mechanistic understanding of how cholinergic neuromodulation controls spatial working memory through perturbed attractor dynamics in the PFC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexandre Mahrach
- Institut d'Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), Barcelona 08036, Spain
| | - David Bestue
- Institut d'Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), Barcelona 08036, Spain
| | - Xue-Lian Qi
- Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina 27157
| | | | - Albert Compte
- Institut d'Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), Barcelona 08036, Spain
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3
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Chen TJ, Wang DC, Liu PC, Hung HS, Cheng TL. Enhanced expression of activity-regulated cytoskeleton-associated protein in the medial prefrontal cortex is involved in working memory performance. Kaohsiung J Med Sci 2024; 40:553-560. [PMID: 38623867 DOI: 10.1002/kjm2.12832] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/12/2024] [Revised: 04/02/2024] [Accepted: 04/03/2024] [Indexed: 04/17/2024] Open
Abstract
Working memory (WM) is a cognitive function important for guiding the on-going or upcoming behavior. A memory-related protein Arc (activity-regulated cytoskeleton-associated protein) is implicated in long-term memory consolidation. Recent evidence further suggests the involvement of hippocampal Arc in spatial WM. The medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) is a key brain region mediating WM. However, the role of mPFC Arc in WM is still uncertain. To investigate whether mPFC Arc protein is involved in WM performance, delayed non-match to sample (DNMS) T-maze task was performed in rats with or without blocking new synthesis of mPFC Arc. In DNMS task, a 10-s or 30-s delay between the sample run and the choice run was given to evaluate WM performance. To block new Arc protein synthesis during the DNMS task, Arc antisense oligodeoxynucleotides (ODNs) were injected to the bilateral mPFC. The results show that, in rats without surgery for cannula implantation and subsequent intracerebral injection of ODNs, WM was functioning well during the DNMS task with a delay of 10 s but not 30 s, which was accompanied with a significantly increased level of mPFC Arc protein, indicating a possible link between enhanced Arc protein expression and the performance of WM. After preventing the enhancement of mPFC Arc protein expression with Arc antisense ODNs, rat's WM performance was impaired. These findings support enhanced mPFC Arc protein expression playing a role during WM performance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tsan-Ju Chen
- Department of Physiology, School of Medicine, College of Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
- Department of Medical Research, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
| | - Dean-Chuan Wang
- Department of Sports Medicine, College of Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
| | - Pei-Chun Liu
- Department of Physiology, School of Medicine, College of Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
| | - Hui-Shan Hung
- Department of Physiology, School of Medicine, College of Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
| | - Tsung-Lin Cheng
- Department of Physiology, School of Medicine, College of Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
- Orthopaedic Research Center, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
- Regeneration Medicine and Cell Therapy Research Center, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
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4
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Malleret G, Salin P, Mazza S, Plancher G. Working memory forgetting: Bridging gaps between human and animal studies. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2024; 163:105742. [PMID: 38830561 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2024.105742] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/09/2024] [Revised: 04/16/2024] [Accepted: 05/28/2024] [Indexed: 06/05/2024]
Abstract
The causes of forgetting in working memory (WM) remain a source of debate in cognitive psychology, partly because it has always been challenging to probe the complex neural mechanisms that govern rapid cognitive processes in humans. In this review, we argue that neural, and more precisely animal models, provide valuable tools for exploring the precise mechanisms of WM forgetting. First, we discuss theoretical perspectives concerning WM forgetting in humans. Then, we present neuronal correlates of WM in animals, starting from the initial evidence of delay activity observed in the prefrontal cortex to the later synaptic theory of WM. In the third part, specific theories of WM are discussed, including the notion that silent versus non-silent activity is more consistent with the processes of refreshing and decay proposed in human cognitive models. The review concludes with an exploration of the relationship between long-term memory and WM, revealing connections between these two forms of memory through the long-term synaptic hypothesis, which suggests that long-term storage of interference can potentially disrupt WM.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gaël Malleret
- Centre de Recherche en Neurosciences de Lyon, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique Unité Mixte de Recherche 5292, Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale U1028, University Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Bron F-69500, France
| | - Paul Salin
- Centre de Recherche en Neurosciences de Lyon, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique Unité Mixte de Recherche 5292, Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale U1028, University Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Bron F-69500, France
| | - Stéphanie Mazza
- Centre de Recherche en Neurosciences de Lyon, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique Unité Mixte de Recherche 5292, Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale U1028, University Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Bron F-69500, France
| | - Gaën Plancher
- Université Lumière Lyon 2, Laboratoire d'Etude des Mécanismes Cognitifs, Bron, France; Institut Universitaire de France (IUF), France.
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Choudhary K, Berberich S, Hahn TTG, McFarland JM, Mehta MR. Spontaneous persistent activity and inactivity in vivo reveals differential cortico-entorhinal functional connectivity. Nat Commun 2024; 15:3542. [PMID: 38719802 PMCID: PMC11079062 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-47617-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2022] [Accepted: 04/04/2024] [Indexed: 05/12/2024] Open
Abstract
Understanding the functional connectivity between brain regions and its emergent dynamics is a central challenge. Here we present a theory-experiment hybrid approach involving iteration between a minimal computational model and in vivo electrophysiological measurements. Our model not only predicted spontaneous persistent activity (SPA) during Up-Down-State oscillations, but also inactivity (SPI), which has never been reported. These were confirmed in vivo in the membrane potential of neurons, especially from layer 3 of the medial and lateral entorhinal cortices. The data was then used to constrain two free parameters, yielding a unique, experimentally determined model for each neuron. Analytic and computational analysis of the model generated a dozen quantitative predictions about network dynamics, which were all confirmed in vivo to high accuracy. Our technique predicted functional connectivity; e. g. the recurrent excitation is stronger in the medial than lateral entorhinal cortex. This too was confirmed with connectomics data. This technique uncovers how differential cortico-entorhinal dialogue generates SPA and SPI, which could form an energetically efficient working-memory substrate and influence the consolidation of memories during sleep. More broadly, our procedure can reveal the functional connectivity of large networks and a theory of their emergent dynamics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Krishna Choudhary
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
- HRL Laboratories, Malibu, CA, USA
| | - Sven Berberich
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center, Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz, Germany
| | | | | | - Mayank R Mehta
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
- W. M. Keck Center for Neurophysics, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
- Departments of Neurology and Neurobiology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
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6
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Boboeva V, Pezzotta A, Clopath C, Akrami A. Unifying network model links recency and central tendency biases in working memory. eLife 2024; 12:RP86725. [PMID: 38656279 DOI: 10.7554/elife.86725] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/26/2024] Open
Abstract
The central tendency bias, or contraction bias, is a phenomenon where the judgment of the magnitude of items held in working memory appears to be biased toward the average of past observations. It is assumed to be an optimal strategy by the brain and commonly thought of as an expression of the brain's ability to learn the statistical structure of sensory input. On the other hand, recency biases such as serial dependence are also commonly observed and are thought to reflect the content of working memory. Recent results from an auditory delayed comparison task in rats suggest that both biases may be more related than previously thought: when the posterior parietal cortex (PPC) was silenced, both short-term and contraction biases were reduced. By proposing a model of the circuit that may be involved in generating the behavior, we show that a volatile working memory content susceptible to shifting to the past sensory experience - producing short-term sensory history biases - naturally leads to contraction bias. The errors, occurring at the level of individual trials, are sampled from the full distribution of the stimuli and are not due to a gradual shift of the memory toward the sensory distribution's mean. Our results are consistent with a broad set of behavioral findings and provide predictions of performance across different stimulus distributions and timings, delay intervals, as well as neuronal dynamics in putative working memory areas. Finally, we validate our model by performing a set of human psychophysics experiments of an auditory parametric working memory task.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vezha Boboeva
- Sainsbury Wellcome Centre, University College London, London, United Kingdom
- Department of Bioengineering, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Alberto Pezzotta
- Gatsby Computational Neuroscience Unit, University College London, London, United Kingdom
- The Francis Crick Institute, London, United Kingdom
| | - Claudia Clopath
- Sainsbury Wellcome Centre, University College London, London, United Kingdom
- Department of Bioengineering, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Athena Akrami
- Sainsbury Wellcome Centre, University College London, London, United Kingdom
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7
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Stroud JP, Duncan J, Lengyel M. The computational foundations of dynamic coding in working memory. Trends Cogn Sci 2024:S1364-6613(24)00053-6. [PMID: 38580528 DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2024.02.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/11/2023] [Revised: 02/29/2024] [Accepted: 02/29/2024] [Indexed: 04/07/2024]
Abstract
Working memory (WM) is a fundamental aspect of cognition. WM maintenance is classically thought to rely on stable patterns of neural activities. However, recent evidence shows that neural population activities during WM maintenance undergo dynamic variations before settling into a stable pattern. Although this has been difficult to explain theoretically, neural network models optimized for WM typically also exhibit such dynamics. Here, we examine stable versus dynamic coding in neural data, classical models, and task-optimized networks. We review principled mathematical reasons for why classical models do not, while task-optimized models naturally do exhibit dynamic coding. We suggest an update to our understanding of WM maintenance, in which dynamic coding is a fundamental computational feature rather than an epiphenomenon.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jake P Stroud
- Computational and Biological Learning Lab, Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
| | - John Duncan
- MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Máté Lengyel
- Computational and Biological Learning Lab, Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK; Center for Cognitive Computation, Department of Cognitive Science, Central European University, Budapest, Hungary
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8
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Bae GY. Cardinal bias interacts with the stimulus history bias in orientation working memory. Atten Percept Psychophys 2024; 86:828-837. [PMID: 38443622 DOI: 10.3758/s13414-024-02867-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 02/11/2024] [Indexed: 03/07/2024]
Abstract
Reports in a visual working memory(WM) task exhibit biases related to the categorical structure of the stimulus space (e.g., cardinal bias) as well as biases related to previously seen stumuli (e.g., serial bias). While these biases are common and can occur simultaneously, the extent to which they interact in WM remains unknown. In the present study, I used orientation delayed estimation tasks known to produce both cardinal and serial biases and found that the serial bias systematically varied based on the relative positions of the cardinal axis and the preceding stimulus in orientation space. When they were positioned in a way that generated cardinal and serial biases in the same direction (i.e., on the same side of the target orientation), reports for the target orientation exhibited a regular repulsive serial bias. However, when their positions resulted in the biases in the opposite directions (i.e., on the opposite side of the target orientation), no serial bias occurred. This absence of serial bias was replicated in a follow-up experiment where the locations of the stimulus orientation and the response probe were completely randomized, suggesting that the interaction occurs independently from location-based response preparation processes. Together, these results demonstrate that the prior stimulus and the cardinal axis impose interactive impact on the processing of new stimulus, producing differential patterns of serial bias depending on the specific stimulus being processed. These findings place significant implications on computational models addressing the nature of the stimulus history effect and its underlying mechanisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gi-Yeul Bae
- Department of Psychology, Arizona State University, 950 S. McAllister Ave., Tempe, AZ, 85287, USA.
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9
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Zheng Q, Xu Y, Shen J. Hamiltonian energy in a modified Hindmarsh-Rose model. FRONTIERS IN NETWORK PHYSIOLOGY 2024; 4:1362778. [PMID: 38595864 PMCID: PMC11002134 DOI: 10.3389/fnetp.2024.1362778] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/29/2023] [Accepted: 03/04/2024] [Indexed: 04/11/2024]
Abstract
This paper investigates the Hamiltonian energy of a modified Hindmarsh-Rose (HR) model to observe its effect on short-term memory. A Hamiltonian energy function and its variable function are given in the reduced system with a single node according to Helmholtz's theorem. We consider the role of the coupling strength and the links between neurons in the pattern formation to show that the coupling and cooperative neurons are necessary for generating the fire or a clear short-term memory when all the neurons are in sync. Then, we consider the effect of the degree and external stimulus from other neurons on the emergence and disappearance of short-term memory, which illustrates that generating short-term memory requires much energy, and the coupling strength could further reduce energy consumption. Finally, the dynamical mechanisms of the generation of short-term memory are concluded.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qianqian Zheng
- School of Science, Xuchang University, Xuchang, Henan, China
| | - Yong Xu
- School of Mathematics and Statistics, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi’an, Shaanxi, China
| | - Jianwei Shen
- School of Mathematics and Statistics, North China University of Water Resources and Electric Power, Zhengzhou, Henan, China
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10
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Zhou L, Liu Y, Jiang Y, Wang W, Xu P, Zhou K. The distinct development of stimulus and response serial dependence. Psychon Bull Rev 2024:10.3758/s13423-024-02474-8. [PMID: 38379075 DOI: 10.3758/s13423-024-02474-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 02/04/2024] [Indexed: 02/22/2024]
Abstract
Serial dependence (SD) is a phenomenon wherein current perceptions are biased by the previous stimulus and response. This helps to attenuate perceptual noise and variability in sensory input and facilitates stable ongoing perceptions of the environment. However, little is known about the developmental trajectory of SD. This study investigates how the stimulus and response biases of the SD effect develop across three age groups. Conventional analyses, in which previous stimulus and response biases were assessed separately, revealed significant changes in the biases over time. Previous stimulus bias shifted from repulsion to attraction, while previous response bias evolved from attraction to greater attraction. However, there was a strong correlation between stimulus and response orientations. Therefore, a generalized linear mixed-effects (GLME) analysis that simultaneously considered both previous stimulus and response, outperformed separate analyses. This revealed that previous stimulus and response resulted in two distinct biases with different developmental trajectories. The repulsion bias of previous stimulus remained relatively stable across all age groups, whereas the attraction bias of previous response was significantly stronger in adults than in children and adolescents. These findings demonstrate that the repulsion bias towards preceding stimuli is established early in the developing brain (at least by around 10 years old), while the attraction bias towards responses is not fully developed until adulthood. Our findings provide new insights into the development of the SD phenomenon and how humans integrate two opposing mechanisms into their perceptual responses to external input during development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Liqin Zhou
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Applied Experimental Psychology, National Demonstration Center for Experimental Psychology Education (Beijing Normal University), Faculty of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Yujie Liu
- Sino-Danish College, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Yuhan Jiang
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Applied Experimental Psychology, National Demonstration Center for Experimental Psychology Education (Beijing Normal University), Faculty of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Wenbo Wang
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Applied Experimental Psychology, National Demonstration Center for Experimental Psychology Education (Beijing Normal University), Faculty of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Pengfei Xu
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Applied Experimental Psychology, National Demonstration Center for Experimental Psychology Education (Beijing Normal University), Faculty of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Ke Zhou
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Applied Experimental Psychology, National Demonstration Center for Experimental Psychology Education (Beijing Normal University), Faculty of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China.
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11
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Mahrach A, Bestue D, Qi XL, Constantinidis C, Compte A. Cholinergic neuromodulation of prefrontal attractor dynamics controls performance in spatial working memory. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.01.17.576071. [PMID: 38293215 PMCID: PMC10827212 DOI: 10.1101/2024.01.17.576071] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/01/2024]
Abstract
The behavioral and neural effects of the endogenous release of acetylcholine following stimulation of the Nucleus Basalis of Meynert (NB) have been recently examined (Qi et al. 2021). Counterintuitively, NB stimulation enhanced behavioral performance while broadening neural tuning in the prefrontal cortex (PFC). The mechanism by which a weaker mnemonic neural code could lead to better performance remains unclear. Here, we show that increased neural excitability in a simple continuous bump attractor model can induce broader neural tuning and decrease bump diffusion, provided neural rates are saturated. Increased memory precision in the model overrides memory accuracy, improving overall task performance. Moreover, we show that bump attractor dynamics can account for the nonuniform impact of neuromodulation on distractibility, depending on distractor distance from the target. Finally, we delve into the conditions under which bump attractor tuning and diffusion balance in biologically plausible heterogeneous network models. In these discrete bump attractor networks, we show that reducing spatial correlations or enhancing excitatory transmission can improve memory precision. Altogether, we provide a mechanistic understanding of how cholinergic neuromodulation controls spatial working memory through perturbed attractor dynamics in PFC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexandre Mahrach
- Institut d’Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), 08036 Barcelona, Spain
| | - David Bestue
- Institut d’Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), 08036 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Xue-Lian Qi
- Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston Salem, NC 27157, USA
| | | | - Albert Compte
- Institut d’Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), 08036 Barcelona, Spain
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12
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Trepka E, Spitmaan M, Qi XL, Constantinidis C, Soltani A. Training-Dependent Gradients of Timescales of Neural Dynamics in the Primate Prefrontal Cortex and Their Contributions to Working Memory. J Neurosci 2024; 44:e2442212023. [PMID: 37973375 PMCID: PMC10866190 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.2442-21.2023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2021] [Revised: 10/23/2023] [Accepted: 10/26/2023] [Indexed: 11/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Cortical neurons exhibit multiple timescales related to dynamics of spontaneous fluctuations (intrinsic timescales) and response to task events (seasonal timescales) in addition to selectivity to task-relevant signals. These timescales increase systematically across the cortical hierarchy, for example, from parietal to prefrontal and cingulate cortex, pointing to their role in cortical computations. It is currently unknown whether these timescales are inherent properties of neurons and/or depend on training in a specific task and if the latter, how their modulations contribute to task performance. To address these questions, we analyzed single-cell recordings within five subregions of the prefrontal cortex (PFC) of male macaques before and after training on a working-memory task. We found fine-grained but opposite gradients of intrinsic and seasonal timescales that mainly appeared after training. Intrinsic timescales decreased whereas seasonal timescales increased from posterior to anterior subregions within both dorsal and ventral PFC. Moreover, training was accompanied by increases in proportions of neurons that exhibited intrinsic and seasonal timescales. These effects were comparable to the emergence of response selectivity due to training. Finally, task selectivity accompanied opposite neural dynamics such that neurons with task-relevant selectivity exhibited longer intrinsic and shorter seasonal timescales. Notably, neurons with longer intrinsic and shorter seasonal timescales exhibited superior population-level coding, but these advantages extended to the delay period mainly after training. Together, our results provide evidence for plastic, fine-grained gradients of timescales within PFC that can influence both single-cell and population coding, pointing to the importance of these timescales in understanding cognition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ethan Trepka
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Dartmouth College, Hanover 03755, New Hampshire
- Neurosciences Program, Stanford University, Stanford 94305, California
| | - Mehran Spitmaan
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Dartmouth College, Hanover 03755, New Hampshire
| | - Xue-Lian Qi
- Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem 27157, North Carolina
| | | | - Alireza Soltani
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Dartmouth College, Hanover 03755, New Hampshire
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13
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Marshall TR, Ruesseler M, Hunt LT, O’Reilly JX. The representation of priors and decisions in the human parietal cortex. PLoS Biol 2024; 22:e3002383. [PMID: 38285671 PMCID: PMC10824454 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3002383] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/07/2022] [Accepted: 12/11/2023] [Indexed: 01/31/2024] Open
Abstract
Animals actively sample their environment through orienting actions such as saccadic eye movements. Saccadic targets are selected based both on sensory evidence immediately preceding the saccade, and a "salience map" or prior built-up over multiple saccades. In the primate cortex, the selection of each individual saccade depends on competition between target-selective cells that ramp up their firing rate to saccade release. However, it is less clear how a cross-saccade prior might be implemented, either in neural firing or through an activity-silent mechanism such as modification of synaptic weights on sensory inputs. Here, we present evidence from magnetoencephalography for 2 distinct processes underlying the selection of the current saccade, and the representation of the prior, in human parietal cortex. While the classic ramping decision process for each saccade was reflected in neural firing rates (measured in the event-related field), a prior built-up over multiple saccades was implemented via modulation of the gain on sensory inputs from the preferred target, as evidenced by rapid frequency tagging. A cascade of computations over time (initial representation of the prior, followed by evidence accumulation and then an integration of prior and evidence) provides a mechanism by which a salience map may be built up across saccades in parietal cortex. It also provides insight into the apparent contradiction that inactivation of parietal cortex has been shown not to affect performance on single-trials, despite the presence of clear evidence accumulation signals in this region.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tom R. Marshall
- Centre for Human Brain Health, School of Psychology, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, United Kingdom
- Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, Department of Experimental Psychology, Oxford University, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Maria Ruesseler
- Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, Department of Psychiatry, Oxford University, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Laurence T. Hunt
- Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, Department of Psychiatry, Oxford University, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Jill X. O’Reilly
- Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, Department of Experimental Psychology, Oxford University, Oxford, United Kingdom
- Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, Nuffield Department for Clinical Neurosciences, Oxford University, Oxford, United Kingdom
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14
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Braun A, Donner TH. Adaptive biasing of action-selective cortical build-up activity by stimulus history. eLife 2023; 12:RP86740. [PMID: 38054952 DOI: 10.7554/elife.86740] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Decisions under uncertainty are often biased by the history of preceding sensory input, behavioral choices, or received outcomes. Behavioral studies of perceptual decisions suggest that such history-dependent biases affect the accumulation of evidence and can be adapted to the correlation structure of the sensory environment. Here, we systematically varied this correlation structure while human participants performed a canonical perceptual choice task. We tracked the trial-by-trial variations of history biases via behavioral modeling and of a neural signature of decision formation via magnetoencephalography (MEG). The history bias was flexibly adapted to the environment and exerted a selective effect on the build-up (not baseline level) of action-selective motor cortical activity during decision formation. This effect added to the impact of the current stimulus. We conclude that the build-up of action plans in human motor cortical circuits is shaped by dynamic prior expectations that result from an adaptive interaction with the environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anke Braun
- Section Computational Cognitive Neuroscience, Department of Neurophysiology and Pathophysiology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
- Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Department of Psychiatry and Neurosciences, Berlin, Germany
- Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Berlin, Germany
| | - Tobias H Donner
- Section Computational Cognitive Neuroscience, Department of Neurophysiology and Pathophysiology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
- Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany
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15
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Bansal S, Bae GY, Robinson BM, Dutterer J, Hahn B, Luck SJ, Gold JM. Qualitatively Different Delay-Dependent Working Memory Distortions in People With Schizophrenia and Healthy Control Participants. BIOLOGICAL PSYCHIATRY. COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENCE AND NEUROIMAGING 2023; 8:1218-1227. [PMID: 37459911 PMCID: PMC10792108 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpsc.2023.07.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/30/2023] [Revised: 06/30/2023] [Accepted: 07/08/2023] [Indexed: 07/28/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Impairments in working memory (WM) have been well documented in people with schizophrenia (PSZ). However, these quantitative WM impairments can often be explained by nonspecific factors, such as impaired goal maintenance. Here, we used a spatial orientation delayed response task to explore a qualitative difference in WM dynamics between PSZ and healthy control participants (HCs). More specifically, we took advantage of the discovery that WM representations may drift either toward or away from previous trial targets (serial dependence). We tested the hypothesis that WM representations would drift toward the previous trial target in HCs but away from the previous trial target in PSZ. METHODS We assessed serial dependence in PSZ (n = 31) and HCs (n = 25) using orientation as the to-be-remembered feature and memory delays lasting from 0 to 8 seconds. Participants were asked to remember the orientation of a teardrop-shaped object and reproduce the orientation after a delay period of varying length. RESULTS Consistent with prior studies, we found that current trial memory representations were less precise in PSZ than in HCs. We also found that WM for the current trial orientation drifted toward the previous trial orientation in HCs (representational attraction) but drifted away from the previous trial orientation in PSZ (representational repulsion). CONCLUSIONS These results demonstrate a qualitative difference in WM dynamics between PSZ and HCs that cannot be easily explained by nuisance factors such as reduced effort. Most computational neuroscience models also fail to explain these results because they maintain information solely by means of sustained neural firing, which does not extend across trials. The results suggest a fundamental difference between PSZ and HCs in longer-term memory mechanisms that persist across trials, such as short-term potentiation and neuronal adaptation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sonia Bansal
- Maryland Psychiatric Research Center, Department of Psychiatry, University of Maryland, School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland.
| | - Gi-Yeul Bae
- Department of Psychology, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona
| | - Benjamin M Robinson
- Maryland Psychiatric Research Center, Department of Psychiatry, University of Maryland, School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Jenna Dutterer
- Maryland Psychiatric Research Center, Department of Psychiatry, University of Maryland, School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Britta Hahn
- Maryland Psychiatric Research Center, Department of Psychiatry, University of Maryland, School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Steven J Luck
- Center for Mind & Brain and Department of Psychology, University of California, Davis, Davis, California
| | - James M Gold
- Maryland Psychiatric Research Center, Department of Psychiatry, University of Maryland, School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
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16
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Thrower L, Dang W, Jaffe RG, Sun JD, Constantinidis C. Decoding working memory information from neurons with and without persistent activity in the primate prefrontal cortex. J Neurophysiol 2023; 130:1392-1402. [PMID: 37910532 PMCID: PMC11068397 DOI: 10.1152/jn.00290.2023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2023] [Revised: 10/24/2023] [Accepted: 10/24/2023] [Indexed: 11/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Persistent activity of neurons in the prefrontal cortex has been thought to represent the information maintained in working memory, though alternative models have challenged this idea. Theories that depend on the dynamic representation of information posit that stimulus information may be maintained by the activity pattern of neurons whose firing rate is not significantly elevated above their baseline during the delay period of working memory tasks. We thus tested the ability of neurons that do and do not generate persistent activity in the prefrontal cortex of monkeys to represent spatial and object information in working memory. Neurons that generated persistent activity represented more information about the stimuli in both spatial and object working memory tasks. The amount of information that could be decoded from neural activity depended on the choice of decoder and parameters used but neurons with persistent activity outperformed non-persistent neurons consistently. Averaged across all neurons and stimuli, the firing rate did not appear clearly elevated above baseline during the maintenance of neural activity particularly for object working memory; however, this grand average masked neurons that generated persistent activity selective for their preferred stimuli, which carried the majority of stimulus information. These results reveal that prefrontal neurons that generate persistent activity maintain information more reliably during working memory.NEW & NOTEWORTHY Competing theories suggest that neurons that generate persistent activity or do not are primarily responsible for the maintenance of information, particularly regarding object working memory. Although the two models have been debated on theoretical terms, direct comparison of empirical results has been lacking. Analysis of neural activity in a large database of prefrontal recordings revealed that neurons that generate persistent activity were primarily responsible for the maintenance of both spatial and object working memory.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lilianna Thrower
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, United States
| | - Wenhao Dang
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, United States
| | - Rye G Jaffe
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, United States
| | - Jasmine D Sun
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, United States
| | - Christos Constantinidis
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, United States
- Neuroscience Program, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, United States
- Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee, United States
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17
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Stroud JP, Watanabe K, Suzuki T, Stokes MG, Lengyel M. Optimal information loading into working memory explains dynamic coding in the prefrontal cortex. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2023; 120:e2307991120. [PMID: 37983510 PMCID: PMC10691340 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2307991120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/15/2023] [Accepted: 09/29/2023] [Indexed: 11/22/2023] Open
Abstract
Working memory involves the short-term maintenance of information and is critical in many tasks. The neural circuit dynamics underlying working memory remain poorly understood, with different aspects of prefrontal cortical (PFC) responses explained by different putative mechanisms. By mathematical analysis, numerical simulations, and using recordings from monkey PFC, we investigate a critical but hitherto ignored aspect of working memory dynamics: information loading. We find that, contrary to common assumptions, optimal loading of information into working memory involves inputs that are largely orthogonal, rather than similar, to the late delay activities observed during memory maintenance, naturally leading to the widely observed phenomenon of dynamic coding in PFC. Using a theoretically principled metric, we show that PFC exhibits the hallmarks of optimal information loading. We also find that optimal information loading emerges as a general dynamical strategy in task-optimized recurrent neural networks. Our theory unifies previous, seemingly conflicting theories of memory maintenance based on attractor or purely sequential dynamics and reveals a normative principle underlying dynamic coding.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jake P. Stroud
- Computational and Biological Learning Lab, Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge, CambridgeCB2 1PZ, United Kingdom
| | - Kei Watanabe
- Graduate School of Frontier Biosciences, Osaka University, Osaka565-0871, Japan
| | - Takafumi Suzuki
- Center for Information and Neural Networks, National Institute of Communication and Information Technology, Osaka565-0871, Japan
| | - Mark G. Stokes
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, OxfordOX2 6GG, United Kingdom
- Oxford Centre for Human Brain Activity, Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, OxfordOX3 9DU, United Kingdom
| | - Máté Lengyel
- Computational and Biological Learning Lab, Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge, CambridgeCB2 1PZ, United Kingdom
- Center for Cognitive Computation, Department of Cognitive Science, Central European University, BudapestH-1051, Hungary
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18
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Eissa TL, Kilpatrick ZP. Learning efficient representations of environmental priors in working memory. PLoS Comput Biol 2023; 19:e1011622. [PMID: 37943956 PMCID: PMC10662764 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1011622] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/22/2022] [Revised: 11/21/2023] [Accepted: 10/20/2023] [Indexed: 11/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Experience shapes our expectations and helps us learn the structure of the environment. Inference models render such learning as a gradual refinement of the observer's estimate of the environmental prior. For instance, when retaining an estimate of an object's features in working memory, learned priors may bias the estimate in the direction of common feature values. Humans display such biases when retaining color estimates on short time intervals. We propose that these systematic biases emerge from modulation of synaptic connectivity in a neural circuit based on the experienced stimulus history, shaping the persistent and collective neural activity that encodes the stimulus estimate. Resulting neural activity attractors are aligned to common stimulus values. Using recently published human response data from a delayed-estimation task in which stimuli (colors) were drawn from a heterogeneous distribution that did not necessarily correspond with reported population biases, we confirm that most subjects' response distributions are better described by experience-dependent learning models than by models with fixed biases. This work suggests systematic limitations in working memory reflect efficient representations of inferred environmental structure, providing new insights into how humans integrate environmental knowledge into their cognitive strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tahra L. Eissa
- Department of Applied Mathematics, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, Colorado, United States of America
| | - Zachary P. Kilpatrick
- Department of Applied Mathematics, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, Colorado, United States of America
- Institute of Cognitive Science, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, Colorado, United States of America
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19
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Huang Q, Luo M, Mi Y, Luo H. "Leader-Follower" Dynamic Perturbation Manipulates Multi-Item Working Memory in Humans. eNeuro 2023; 10:ENEURO.0472-22.2023. [PMID: 37914409 PMCID: PMC10668215 DOI: 10.1523/eneuro.0472-22.2023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/21/2022] [Revised: 10/22/2023] [Accepted: 10/25/2023] [Indexed: 11/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Manipulating working memory (WM) is a central yet challenging notion. Previous studies suggest that WM items with varied memory strengths reactivate at different latencies, supporting a time-based mechanism. Motivated by this view, here we developed a purely bottom-up "Leader-Follower" behavioral approach to manipulate WM in humans. Specifically, task-irrelevant flickering color disks that are bound to each of the memorized items are presented during the delay period, and the ongoing luminance sequences of the color disks follow a Leader-Follower relationship, that is, a hundreds of milliseconds temporal lag. We show that this dynamic behavioral approach leads to better memory performance for the item associated with the temporally advanced luminance sequence (Leader) than the item with the temporally lagged luminance sequence (Follower), yet with limited effectiveness. Together, our findings constitute evidence for the essential role of temporal dynamics in WM operation and offer a promising, noninvasive WM manipulation approach.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qiaoli Huang
- School of Psychological and Cognitive Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
- PKU-IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Behavior and Mental Health, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
- Department of Psychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig 04103, Germany
| | - Minghao Luo
- School of Psychological and Cognitive Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
- PKU-IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Behavior and Mental Health, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
| | - Yuanyuan Mi
- Department of Psychology, School of Social Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
| | - Huan Luo
- School of Psychological and Cognitive Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
- PKU-IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Behavior and Mental Health, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
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20
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Ceanga M, Rahmati V, Haselmann H, Schmidl L, Hunter D, Brauer AK, Liebscher S, Kreye J, Prüss H, Groc L, Hallermann S, Dalmau J, Ori A, Heckmann M, Geis C. Human NMDAR autoantibodies disrupt excitatory-inhibitory balance, leading to hippocampal network hypersynchrony. Cell Rep 2023; 42:113166. [PMID: 37768823 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2023.113166] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2022] [Revised: 06/30/2023] [Accepted: 09/07/2023] [Indexed: 09/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Anti-NMDA receptor autoantibodies (NMDAR-Abs) in patients with NMDAR encephalitis cause severe disease symptoms resembling psychosis and cause cognitive dysfunction. After passive transfer of patients' cerebrospinal fluid or human monoclonal anti-GluN1-autoantibodies in mice, we find a disrupted excitatory-inhibitory balance resulting from CA1 neuronal hypoexcitability, reduced AMPA receptor (AMPAR) signaling, and faster synaptic inhibition in acute hippocampal slices. Functional alterations are also reflected in widespread remodeling of the hippocampal proteome, including changes in glutamatergic and GABAergic neurotransmission. NMDAR-Abs amplify network γ oscillations and disrupt θ-γ coupling. A data-informed network model reveals that lower AMPAR strength and faster GABAA receptor current kinetics chiefly account for these abnormal oscillations. As predicted in silico and evidenced ex vivo, positive allosteric modulation of AMPARs alleviates aberrant γ activity, reinforcing the causative effects of the excitatory-inhibitory imbalance. Collectively, NMDAR-Ab-induced aberrant synaptic, cellular, and network dynamics provide conceptual insights into NMDAR-Ab-mediated pathomechanisms and reveal promising therapeutic targets that merit future in vivo validation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mihai Ceanga
- Section of Translational Neuroimmunology, Department of Neurology, Jena University Hospital, 07747 Jena, Germany
| | - Vahid Rahmati
- Section of Translational Neuroimmunology, Department of Neurology, Jena University Hospital, 07747 Jena, Germany
| | - Holger Haselmann
- Section of Translational Neuroimmunology, Department of Neurology, Jena University Hospital, 07747 Jena, Germany
| | - Lars Schmidl
- Section of Translational Neuroimmunology, Department of Neurology, Jena University Hospital, 07747 Jena, Germany
| | - Daniel Hunter
- Université de Bordeaux, CNRS, Interdisciplinary Institute for Neuroscience, UMR 5297, 33000 Bordeaux, France
| | - Anna-Katherina Brauer
- Institute of Clinical Neuroimmunology, Klinikum der Universität München, Ludwig Maximilians University Munich, Martinsried, Germany; Biomedical Center, Ludwig Maximilians University Munich, Martinsried, Germany
| | - Sabine Liebscher
- Institute of Clinical Neuroimmunology, Klinikum der Universität München, Ludwig Maximilians University Munich, Martinsried, Germany; Biomedical Center, Ludwig Maximilians University Munich, Martinsried, Germany; Munich Cluster for Systems Neurology (SyNergy), Munich, Germany
| | - Jakob Kreye
- Department of Neurology and Experimental Neurology, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, 10117 Berlin, Germany; German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) Berlin, Berlin, Germany; Department of Pediatric Neurology, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, 10117 Berlin, Germany
| | - Harald Prüss
- Department of Neurology and Experimental Neurology, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, 10117 Berlin, Germany; German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Laurent Groc
- Université de Bordeaux, CNRS, Interdisciplinary Institute for Neuroscience, UMR 5297, 33000 Bordeaux, France
| | - Stefan Hallermann
- Carl Ludwig Institute for Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, Leipzig University, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Josep Dalmau
- Catalan Institution for Research and Advanced Studies (ICREA) and IDIBAPS-Hospital Clinic, University of Barcelona, 08036 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Alessandro Ori
- Leibniz Institute on Aging - Fritz Lipmann Institute (FLI), 07745 Jena, Germany
| | - Manfred Heckmann
- Department of Neurophysiology, Institute of Physiology, University of Würzburg, 97070 Würzburg, Germany
| | - Christian Geis
- Section of Translational Neuroimmunology, Department of Neurology, Jena University Hospital, 07747 Jena, Germany.
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21
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Li S, Rosen MC, Chang S, David S, Freedman DJ. Alterations of neural activity in the prefrontal cortex associated with deficits in working memory performance. Front Behav Neurosci 2023; 17:1213435. [PMID: 37915531 PMCID: PMC10616307 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2023.1213435] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2023] [Accepted: 08/31/2023] [Indexed: 11/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Working memory (WM), a core cognitive function, enables the temporary holding and manipulation of information in mind to support ongoing behavior. Neurophysiological recordings conducted in nonhuman primates have revealed neural correlates of this process in a network of higher-order cortical regions, particularly the prefrontal cortex (PFC). Here, we review the circuit mechanisms and functional importance of WM-related activity in these areas. Recent neurophysiological data indicates that the absence of these neural correlates at different stages of WM is accompanied by distinct behavioral deficits, which are characteristic of various disease states/normal aging and which we review here. Finally, we discuss emerging evidence of electrical stimulation ameliorating these WM deficits in both humans and non-human primates. These results are important for a basic understanding of the neural mechanisms supporting WM, as well as for translational efforts to developing therapies capable of enhancing healthy WM ability or restoring WM from dysfunction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sihai Li
- Department of Neurobiology, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States
| | - Matthew C. Rosen
- Department of Neurobiology, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States
| | - Suha Chang
- Department of Neurobiology, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States
| | - Samuel David
- Department of Neurobiology, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States
| | - David J. Freedman
- Department of Neurobiology, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States
- Neuroscience Institute, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States
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22
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Shimizu T, Nayar SG, Swire M, Jiang Y, Grist M, Kaller M, Sampaio Baptista C, Bannerman DM, Johansen-Berg H, Ogasawara K, Tohyama K, Li H, Richardson WD. Oligodendrocyte dynamics dictate cognitive performance outcomes of working memory training in mice. Nat Commun 2023; 14:6499. [PMID: 37838794 PMCID: PMC10576739 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-42293-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2023] [Accepted: 10/04/2023] [Indexed: 10/16/2023] Open
Abstract
Previous work has shown that motor skill learning stimulates and requires generation of myelinating oligodendrocytes (OLs) from their precursor cells (OLPs) in the brains of adult mice. In the present study we ask whether OL production is also required for non-motor learning and cognition, using T-maze and radial-arm-maze tasks that tax spatial working memory. We find that maze training stimulates OLP proliferation and OL production in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), anterior corpus callosum (genu), dorsal thalamus and hippocampal formation of adult male mice; myelin sheath formation is also stimulated in the genu. Genetic blockade of OL differentiation and neo-myelination in Myrf conditional-knockout mice strongly impairs training-induced improvements in maze performance. We find a strong positive correlation between the performance of individual wild type mice and the scale of OLP proliferation and OL generation during training, but not with the number or intensity of c-Fos+ neurons in their mPFC, underscoring the important role played by OL lineage cells in cognitive processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Takahiro Shimizu
- Wolfson Institute for Biomedical Research, University College London, Gower Street, London, WC1E 6BT, UK
| | - Stuart G Nayar
- Wolfson Institute for Biomedical Research, University College London, Gower Street, London, WC1E 6BT, UK
| | - Matthew Swire
- Wolfson Institute for Biomedical Research, University College London, Gower Street, London, WC1E 6BT, UK
| | - Yi Jiang
- Wolfson Institute for Biomedical Research, University College London, Gower Street, London, WC1E 6BT, UK
| | - Matthew Grist
- Wolfson Institute for Biomedical Research, University College London, Gower Street, London, WC1E 6BT, UK
| | - Malte Kaller
- Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, Department of Clinical Neurosciences, John Radcliffe Hospital, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX3 9DU, UK
| | - Cassandra Sampaio Baptista
- Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, Department of Clinical Neurosciences, John Radcliffe Hospital, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX3 9DU, UK
- Institute of Neuroscience and Psychology, University of Glasgow, 62 Hillhead Street, G12 8QB, Glasgow, UK
| | - David M Bannerman
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX1 3TA, UK
| | - Heidi Johansen-Berg
- Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, Department of Clinical Neurosciences, John Radcliffe Hospital, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX3 9DU, UK
| | - Katsutoshi Ogasawara
- Technical Support Center for Life Science Research, Iwate Medical University, 1-1-1 Idaidori, Yahabacho, Shiwa-gun, Morioka, Iwate, 028-3694, Japan
| | - Koujiro Tohyama
- Department of Physiology, Iwate Medical University, 1-1-1 Idaidori, Yahabacho, Shiwa-gun, Morioka, Iwate, 028-3694, Japan
| | - Huiliang Li
- Wolfson Institute for Biomedical Research, University College London, Gower Street, London, WC1E 6BT, UK
| | - William D Richardson
- Wolfson Institute for Biomedical Research, University College London, Gower Street, London, WC1E 6BT, UK.
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23
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Funahashi S, Gao B, Takeda K, Watanabe Y, Wu J, Yan T. Individual prefrontal neurons contribute to sensory-to-motor information transformation by rotating reference frames during spatial working memory performance. Cereb Cortex 2023; 33:10258-10271. [PMID: 37557911 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhad280] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2023] [Revised: 07/12/2023] [Accepted: 07/13/2023] [Indexed: 08/11/2023] Open
Abstract
Performing working memory tasks correctly requires not only the temporary maintenance of information but also the visual-to-motor transformation of information. Although sustained delay-period activity is known to be a mechanism for temporarily maintaining information, the mechanism for information transformation is not well known. An analysis using a population of delay-period activities recorded from prefrontal neurons visualized a gradual change of maintained information from sensory to motor as the delay period progressed. However, the contributions of individual prefrontal neurons to this process are not known. In the present study, we used a version of the delayed-response task, in which monkeys needed to make a saccade 90o clockwise from a visual cue after a 3-s delay, and examined the temporal change in the preferred directions of delay-period activity during the delay period for individual neurons. One group of prefrontal neurons encoded the cue direction by a retinotopic reference frame and either maintained it throughout the delay period or rotated it 90o counterclockwise to adjust visual information to saccade information, whereas other groups of neurons encoded the cue direction by a saccade-based reference frame and rotated it 90o clockwise. The results indicate that visual-to-motor information transformation is achieved by manipulating the reference frame to adjust visual coordinates to motor coordinates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shintaro Funahashi
- Advanced Research Institute for Multidisciplinary Science, Beijing Institute of Technology, Haidian District, Beijing 100018, People's Republic of China
- School of Life Science, Beijing Institute of Technology, Haidian District, Beijing 100018, People's Republic of China
- Department of Cognitive and Behavioral Sciences, Graduate School of Human and Environmental Studies, Kyoto University, Yoshida, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan
- Kokoro Research Center, Kyoto University, Yoshida, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan
| | - Binbin Gao
- School of Life Science, Beijing Institute of Technology, Haidian District, Beijing 100018, People's Republic of China
| | - Kazuyoshi Takeda
- Department of Cognitive and Behavioral Sciences, Graduate School of Human and Environmental Studies, Kyoto University, Yoshida, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan
| | - Yumiko Watanabe
- Department of Cognitive and Behavioral Sciences, Graduate School of Human and Environmental Studies, Kyoto University, Yoshida, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan
| | - Jinglong Wu
- School of Medical Technology, Beijing Institute of Technology, Haidian District, Beijing 100018, People's Republic of China
| | - Tianyi Yan
- School of Life Science, Beijing Institute of Technology, Haidian District, Beijing 100018, People's Republic of China
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24
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Nolan SO, Melugin PR, Erickson KR, Adams WR, Farahbakhsh ZZ, Mcgonigle CE, Kwon MH, Costa VD, Lapish CC, Hackett TA, Cuzon Carlson VC, Constantinidis C, Grant KA, Siciliano CA. Recurrent activity within microcircuits of macaque dorsolateral prefrontal cortex tracks cognitive flexibility. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.09.23.559125. [PMID: 38529503 PMCID: PMC10962741 DOI: 10.1101/2023.09.23.559125] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/27/2024]
Abstract
Human and non-human primate data clearly implicate the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) as critical for advanced cognitive functions 1,2 . It is thought that intracortical synaptic architectures within dlPFC are the integral neurobiological substrate that gives rise to these processes, including working memory, inferential reasoning, and decision-making 3-7 . In the prevailing model, each cortical column makes up one fundamental processing unit composed of dense intrinsic connectivity, conceptualized as the 'canonical' cortical microcircuit 3,8 . Each cortical microcircuit receives sensory and cognitive information from a variety of sources which are represented by sustained activity within the microcircuit, referred to as persistent or recurrent activity 4,9 . Via recurrent connections within the microcircuit, activity can propagate for a variable length of time, thereby allowing temporary storage and computations to occur locally before ultimately passing a transformed representation to a downstream output 4,5,10 . Competing theories regarding how microcircuit activity is coordinated have proven difficult to reconcile in vivo where intercortical and intracortical computations cannot be fully dissociated 5,9,11,12 . Here, we interrogated the intrinsic features of isolated microcircuit networks using high-density calcium imaging of macaque dlPFC ex vivo . We found that spontaneous activity is intrinsically maintained by microcircuit architecture, persisting at a high rate in the absence of extrinsic connections. Further, using perisulcal stimulation to evoke persistent activity in deep layers, we found that activity propagates through stochastically assembled intracortical networks, creating predictable population-level events from largely non-overlapping ensembles. Microcircuit excitability covaried with individual cognitive performance, thus anchoring heuristic models of abstract cortical functions within quantifiable constraints imposed by the underlying synaptic architecture.
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Fulvio JM, Rokers B, Samaha J. Task feedback suggests a post-perceptual component to serial dependence. J Vis 2023; 23:6. [PMID: 37682557 PMCID: PMC10500366 DOI: 10.1167/jov.23.10.6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2022] [Accepted: 08/14/2023] [Indexed: 09/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Decisions across a range of perceptual tasks are biased toward past stimuli. Such serial dependence is thought to be an adaptive low-level mechanism that promotes perceptual stability across time. However, recent studies suggest post-perceptual mechanisms may also contribute to serially biased responses, calling into question a single locus of serial dependence and the nature of integration of past and present sensory inputs. We measured serial dependence in the context of a three-dimensional (3D) motion perception task where uncertainty in the sensory information varied substantially from trial to trial. We found that serial dependence varied with stimulus properties that impact sensory uncertainty on the current trial. Reduced stimulus contrast was associated with an increased bias toward the stimulus direction of the previous trial. Critically, performance feedback, which reduced sensory uncertainty, abolished serial dependence. These results provide clear evidence for a post-perceptual locus of serial dependence in 3D motion perception and support the role of serial dependence as a response strategy in the face of substantial sensory uncertainty.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Bas Rokers
- Department of Psychology, New York University Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
- Department of Psychology and Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Jason Samaha
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA, USA
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26
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Watanabe K, Kadohisa M, Kusunoki M, Buckley MJ, Duncan J. Cycles of goal silencing and reactivation underlie complex problem-solving in primate frontal and parietal cortex. Nat Commun 2023; 14:5054. [PMID: 37598206 PMCID: PMC10439911 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-40676-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2022] [Accepted: 08/03/2023] [Indexed: 08/21/2023] Open
Abstract
While classic views proposed that working memory (WM) is mediated by sustained firing, recent evidence suggests a contribution of activity-silent states. Within WM, human neuroimaging studies suggest a switch between attentional foreground and background, with only the foregrounded item represented in active neural firing. To address this process at the cellular level, we recorded prefrontal (PFC) and posterior parietal (PPC) neurons in a complex problem-solving task, with monkeys searching for one or two target locations in a first cycle of trials, and retaining them for memory-guided revisits on subsequent cycles. When target locations were discovered, neither frontal nor parietal neurons showed sustained goal-location codes continuing into subsequent trials and cycles. Instead there were sequences of timely goal silencing and reactivation, and following reactivation, sustained states until behavioral response. With two target locations, goal representations in both regions showed evidence of transitions between foreground and background, but the PFC representation was more complete, extending beyond the current trial to include both past and future selections. In the absence of unbroken sustained codes, different neuronal states interact to support maintenance and retrieval of WM representations across successive trials.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kei Watanabe
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, OX1 3SR, Oxford, UK.
- Graduate School of Frontier Biosciences, Osaka University, Osaka, 565-0871, Japan.
- Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka University, Osaka, 565-0871, Japan.
| | - Mikiko Kadohisa
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, OX1 3SR, Oxford, UK
- MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, CB2 7EF, Cambridge, UK
| | - Makoto Kusunoki
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, OX1 3SR, Oxford, UK
- MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, CB2 7EF, Cambridge, UK
| | - Mark J Buckley
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, OX1 3SR, Oxford, UK
| | - John Duncan
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, OX1 3SR, Oxford, UK
- MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, CB2 7EF, Cambridge, UK
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27
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Duncan DH, van Moorselaar D, Theeuwes J. Pinging the brain to reveal the hidden attentional priority map using encephalography. Nat Commun 2023; 14:4749. [PMID: 37550310 PMCID: PMC10406833 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-40405-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/21/2022] [Accepted: 07/27/2023] [Indexed: 08/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Attention has been usefully thought of as organized in priority maps - putative maps of space where attentional priority is weighted across spatial regions in a winner-take-all competition for attentional deployment. Recent work has highlighted the influence of past experiences on the weighting of spatial priority - called selection history. Aside from being distinct from more well-studied, top-down forms of attentional enhancement, little is known about the neural substrates of history-mediated attentional priority. Using a task known to induce statistical learning of target distributions, in an EEG study we demonstrate that this otherwise invisible, latent attentional priority map can be visualized during the intertrial period using a 'pinging' technique in conjunction with multivariate pattern analyses. Our findings not only offer a method of visualizing the history-mediated attentional priority map, but also shed light on the underlying mechanisms allowing our past experiences to influence future behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dock H Duncan
- Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
- Institute Brain and Behavior Amsterdam (iBBA), Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
| | - Dirk van Moorselaar
- Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
- Institute Brain and Behavior Amsterdam (iBBA), Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Jan Theeuwes
- Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
- Institute Brain and Behavior Amsterdam (iBBA), Amsterdam, the Netherlands
- William James Center for Research, ISPA-Instituto Universitario, Lisbon, Portugal
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28
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Manassi M, Murai Y, Whitney D. Serial dependence in visual perception: A meta-analysis and review. J Vis 2023; 23:18. [PMID: 37642639 PMCID: PMC10476445 DOI: 10.1167/jov.23.8.18] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/29/2023] [Accepted: 07/12/2023] [Indexed: 08/31/2023] Open
Abstract
Positive sequential dependencies are phenomena in which actions, perception, decisions, and memory of features or objects are systematically biased toward visual experiences from the recent past. Among many labels, serial dependencies have been referred to as priming, sequential dependencies, sequential effects, or serial effects. Despite extensive research on the topic, the field still lacks an operational definition of what counts as serial dependence. In this meta-analysis, we review the vast literature on serial dependence and quantitatively assess its key diagnostic characteristics across several different domains of visual perception. The meta-analyses fully characterize serial dependence in orientation, face, and numerosity perception. They show that serial dependence is defined by four main kinds of tuning: serial dependence decays with time (temporal-tuning), it depends on relative spatial location (spatial-tuning), it occurs only between similar features and objects (feature-tuning), and it is modulated by attention (attentional-tuning). We also review studies of serial dependence that report single observer data, highlighting the importance of individual differences in serial dependence. Finally, we discuss a range of outstanding questions and novel research avenues that are prompted by the meta-analyses. Together, the meta-analyses provide a full characterization of serial dependence as an operationally defined family of visual phenomena, and they outline several of the key diagnostic criteria for serial dependence that should serve as guideposts for future research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mauro Manassi
- School of Psychology, University of Aberdeen, King's College, Aberdeen, UK
| | - Yuki Murai
- Center for Information and Neural Networks, National Institute of Information and Communications Technology, Osaka, Japan
| | - David Whitney
- Department of Psychology University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
- Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
- Vision Science Group, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
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29
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Thrower L, Dang W, Jaffe RG, Sun JD, Constantinidis C. Decoding working memory information from persistent and activity-silent neurons in the primate prefrontal cortex. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.07.25.550371. [PMID: 37546782 PMCID: PMC10402050 DOI: 10.1101/2023.07.25.550371] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/08/2023]
Abstract
Persistent activity of neurons in the prefrontal cortex has been thought to represent the information maintained in working memory, though alternative models have recently challenged this idea. Activity-silent theories posit that stimulus information may be maintained by the activity pattern of neurons that do not produce firing rate significantly elevated about their baseline during the delay period of working memory tasks. We thus tested the ability of neurons that do and do not generate persistent activity in the prefrontal cortex of monkeys to represent spatial and object information in working memory. Neurons that generated persistent activity represented more information about the stimuli in both spatial and object working memory tasks. The amount of information that could be decoded from neural activity depended on the choice of decoder and parameters used but neurons with persistent activity outperformed non-persistent neurons consistently. Although averaged across all neurons and stimuli, firing rate did not appear clearly elevated above baseline during the maintenance of neural activity particularly for object working memory, this grant average masked neurons that generated persistent activity selective for their preferred stimuli, which carried the majority of information about the stimulus identity. These results reveal that prefrontal neurons with generate persistent activity constitute the primary mechanism of working memory maintenance in the cortex. NEW AND NOTEWORTHY Competing theories suggest that neurons that generate persistent activity or do not are primarily responsible for the maintenance of information, particularly regarding object working memory. While the two models have been debated on theoretical terms, direct comparison of empirical results have been lacking. Analysis of neural activity in a large database of prefrontal recordings revealed that neurons that generate persistent activity were primarily responsible for the maintenance of both spatial and object working memory.
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30
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Bliss DP, Rahnev D, Mackey WE, Curtis CE, D'Esposito M. Stimulation along the anterior-posterior axis of lateral frontal cortex reduces visual serial dependence. J Vis 2023; 23:1. [PMID: 37395704 PMCID: PMC10324416 DOI: 10.1167/jov.23.7.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/07/2022] [Accepted: 06/07/2023] [Indexed: 07/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Serial dependence is an attractive pull that recent perceptual history exerts on current judgments. Theory suggests that this bias is due to a form of short-term plasticity prevalent specifically in the frontal lobe. We sought to test the importance of the frontal lobe to serial dependence by disrupting neural activity along its lateral surface during two tasks with distinct perceptual and motor demands. In our first experiment, stimulation of the lateral prefrontal cortex (LPFC) during an oculomotor delayed response task decreased serial dependence only in the first saccade to the target, whereas stimulation posterior to the LPFC decreased serial dependence only in adjustments to eye position after the first saccade. In our second experiment, which used an orientation discrimination task, stimulation anterior to, in, and posterior to the LPFC all caused equivalent decreases in serial dependence. In this experiment, serial dependence occurred only between stimuli at the same location; an alternation bias was observed across hemifields. Frontal stimulation had no effect on the alternation bias. Transcranial magnetic stimulation to parietal cortex had no effect on serial dependence in either experiment. In summary, our experiments provide evidence for both functional differentiation (Experiment 1) and redundancy (Experiment 2) in frontal cortex with respect to serial dependence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel P Bliss
- Citizen Science Program, Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, NY, USA
| | - Dobromir Rahnev
- School of Psychology, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Wayne E Mackey
- Department of Psychology, New York University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Clayton E Curtis
- Department of Psychology, New York University, New York, NY, USA
- Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Mark D'Esposito
- Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute and Department of Psychology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
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31
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Wang H, Pan X, Wang J, Sun M, Wu C, Yu Q, Liu Z, Chen T, Liu Y. Dual functional states of working memory realized by memristor-based neural network. Front Neurosci 2023; 17:1192993. [PMID: 37351423 PMCID: PMC10282152 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2023.1192993] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/24/2023] [Accepted: 05/16/2023] [Indexed: 06/24/2023] Open
Abstract
Working memory refers to the brain's ability to store and manipulate information for a short period. It is disputably considered to rely on two mechanisms: sustained neuronal firing, and "activity-silent" working memory. To develop a highly biologically plausible neuromorphic computing system, it is anticipated to physically realize working memory that corresponds to both of these mechanisms. In this study, we propose a memristor-based neural network to realize the sustained neural firing and activity-silent working memory, which are reflected as dual functional states within memory. Memristor-based synapses and two types of artificial neurons are designed for the Winner-Takes-All learning rule. During the cognitive task, state transformation between the "focused" state and the "unfocused" state of working memory is demonstrated. This work paves the way for further emulating the complex working memory functions with distinct neural activities in our brains.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hongzhe Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Electronic Thin Films and Integrated Devices, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
| | - Xinqiang Pan
- State Key Laboratory of Electronic Thin Films and Integrated Devices, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
| | - Junjie Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Electronic Thin Films and Integrated Devices, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
| | - Mingyuan Sun
- Beijing China Changfeng Electromechanical Technology Research and Design Institute, Beijing, China
| | - Chuangui Wu
- State Key Laboratory of Electronic Thin Films and Integrated Devices, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
| | - Qi Yu
- State Key Laboratory of Electronic Thin Films and Integrated Devices, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
| | - Zhen Liu
- School of Materials and Energy, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou, China
| | - Tupei Chen
- School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Yang Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Electronic Thin Films and Integrated Devices, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
- Deepcreatic Technologies Ltd., Chengdu, China
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32
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Langdon C, Genkin M, Engel TA. A unifying perspective on neural manifolds and circuits for cognition. Nat Rev Neurosci 2023; 24:363-377. [PMID: 37055616 PMCID: PMC11058347 DOI: 10.1038/s41583-023-00693-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 19.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 03/06/2023] [Indexed: 04/15/2023]
Abstract
Two different perspectives have informed efforts to explain the link between the brain and behaviour. One approach seeks to identify neural circuit elements that carry out specific functions, emphasizing connectivity between neurons as a substrate for neural computations. Another approach centres on neural manifolds - low-dimensional representations of behavioural signals in neural population activity - and suggests that neural computations are realized by emergent dynamics. Although manifolds reveal an interpretable structure in heterogeneous neuronal activity, finding the corresponding structure in connectivity remains a challenge. We highlight examples in which establishing the correspondence between low-dimensional activity and connectivity has been possible, unifying the neural manifold and circuit perspectives. This relationship is conspicuous in systems in which the geometry of neural responses mirrors their spatial layout in the brain, such as the fly navigational system. Furthermore, we describe evidence that, in systems in which neural responses are heterogeneous, the circuit comprises interactions between activity patterns on the manifold via low-rank connectivity. We suggest that unifying the manifold and circuit approaches is important if we are to be able to causally test theories about the neural computations that underlie behaviour.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher Langdon
- Princeton Neuroscience Institute, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
- Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, NY, USA
| | - Mikhail Genkin
- Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, NY, USA
| | - Tatiana A Engel
- Princeton Neuroscience Institute, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA.
- Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, NY, USA.
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33
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Abdalaziz M, Redding ZV, Fiebelkorn IC. Rhythmic temporal coordination of neural activity prevents representational conflict during working memory. Curr Biol 2023; 33:1855-1863.e3. [PMID: 37100058 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2023.03.088] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/05/2022] [Revised: 02/27/2023] [Accepted: 03/31/2023] [Indexed: 04/28/2023]
Abstract
Selective attention1 is characterized by alternating states associated with either attentional sampling or attentional shifting, helping to prevent functional conflicts by isolating function-specific neural activity in time.2,3,4,5 We hypothesized that such rhythmic temporal coordination might also help to prevent representational conflicts during working memory.6 Multiple items can be simultaneously held in working memory, and these items can be represented by overlapping neural populations.7,8,9 Traditional theories propose that the short-term storage of to-be-remembered items occurs through persistent neural activity,10,11,12 but when neurons are simultaneously representing multiple items, persistent activity creates a potential for representational conflicts. In comparison, more recent, "activity-silent" theories of working memory propose that synaptic changes also contribute to short-term storage of to-be-remembered items.13,14,15,16 Transient bursts in neural activity,17 rather than persistent activity, could serve to occasionally refresh these synaptic changes. Here, we used EEG and response times to test whether rhythmic temporal coordination helps to isolate neural activity associated with different to-be-remembered items, thereby helping to prevent representational conflicts. Consistent with this hypothesis, we report that the relative strength of different item representations alternates over time as a function of the frequency-specific phase. Although RTs were linked to theta (∼6 Hz) and beta (∼25 Hz) phases during a memory delay, the relative strength of item representations only alternated as a function of the beta phase. The present findings (1) are consistent with rhythmic temporal coordination being a general mechanism for preventing functional or representational conflicts during cognitive processes and (2) inform models describing the role of oscillatory dynamics in organizing working memory.13,18,19,20,21.
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Affiliation(s)
- Miral Abdalaziz
- Department of Neuroscience and Del Monte Institute for Neuroscience, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY 14627, USA
| | - Zach V Redding
- Department of Neuroscience and Del Monte Institute for Neuroscience, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY 14627, USA
| | - Ian C Fiebelkorn
- Department of Neuroscience and Del Monte Institute for Neuroscience, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY 14627, USA.
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34
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Bansal S, Bae GY, Robinson BM, Dutterer J, Hahn B, Luck SJ, Gold JM. Qualitatively different delay-dependent working memory distortions in people with schizophrenia and healthy control subjects. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.04.04.535597. [PMID: 37066149 PMCID: PMC10104073 DOI: 10.1101/2023.04.04.535597] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/18/2023]
Abstract
Background Impairments in working memory(WM) have been well-documented in people with schizophrenia(PSZ). However, these quantitative WM impairments can often be explained by nonspecific factors, such as impaired goal maintenance. Here, we used a spatial orientation delayed-response task to explore a qualitative difference in WM dynamics between PSZ and healthy control subjects(HCS). Specifically, we took advantage of the discovery that WM representations may drift either toward or away from previous-trial targets(serial dependence). We tested the hypothesis that WM representations drift toward the previous-trial target in HCS but away from the previous-trial target in PSZ. Methods We assessed serial dependence in PSZ(N=31) and HCS(N=25), using orientation as the to-be-remembered feature and memory delays from 0 to 8s. Participants were asked to remember the orientation of a teardrop-shaped object and reproduce the orientation after a varying delay period. Results Consistent with prior studies, we found that current-trial memory representations were less precise in PSZ than in HCS. We also found that WM for the current-trial orientation drifted toward the previous-trial orientation in HCS(representational attraction) but drifted away from the previous-trial orientation in PSZ(representational repulsion). Conclusions These results demonstrate a qualitative difference in WM dynamics between PSZ and HCS that cannot easily be explained by nuisance factors such as reduced effort. Most computational neuroscience models also fail to explain these results, because they maintain information solely by means of sustained neural firing, which does not extend across trials. The results suggest a fundamental difference between PSZ and HCS in longer-term memory mechanisms that persist across trials, such as short-term potentiation and neuronal adaptation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sonia Bansal
- Maryland Psychiatric Research Center, Department of Psychiatry, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Gi-Yeul Bae
- Department of Psychology, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona
| | - Benjamin M Robinson
- Maryland Psychiatric Research Center, Department of Psychiatry, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Jenna Dutterer
- Maryland Psychiatric Research Center, Department of Psychiatry, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Britta Hahn
- Maryland Psychiatric Research Center, Department of Psychiatry, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Steven J Luck
- Center for Mind & Brain and Department of Psychology, University of California, Davis, Davis, California
| | - James M Gold
- Maryland Psychiatric Research Center, Department of Psychiatry, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
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35
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Benozzo D, Ferrucci L, Genovesio A. Effects of contraction bias on the decision process in the macaque prefrontal cortex. Cereb Cortex 2023; 33:2958-2968. [PMID: 35718538 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhac253] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2021] [Revised: 05/30/2022] [Accepted: 05/30/2022] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Our representation of magnitudes such as time, distance, and size is not always veridical because it is affected by multiple biases. From a Bayesian perspective, estimation errors are considered to be the result of an optimization mechanism for the behavior in a noisy environment by integrating previous experience with the incoming sensory information. One influence of the distribution of past stimuli on perceptual decisions is represented by the regression toward the mean, a type of contraction bias. Using a spatial discrimination task with 2 stimuli presented sequentially at different distances from the center, we show that this bias is also present in macaques when comparing the magnitude of 2 distances. We found that the contraction of the first stimulus magnitude toward the center of the distribution accounted for some of the changes in performance, even more so than the effect of difficulty related to the ratio between stimulus magnitudes. At the neural level in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, the coding of the decision after the presentation of the second stimulus reflected the effect of the contraction bias on the discriminability of the stimuli at the behavioral level.
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Affiliation(s)
- Danilo Benozzo
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy
| | - Lorenzo Ferrucci
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy
| | - Aldo Genovesio
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy
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36
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Top-down specific preparatory activations for selective attention and perceptual expectations. Neuroimage 2023; 271:119960. [PMID: 36854351 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2023.119960] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2022] [Revised: 02/17/2023] [Accepted: 02/20/2023] [Indexed: 03/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Proactive cognition brain models are mainstream nowadays. Within these, preparation is understood as an endogenous, top-down function that takes place prior to the actual perception of a stimulus and improves subsequent behavior. Neuroimaging has shown the existence of such preparatory activity separately in different cognitive domains, however no research to date has sought to uncover their potential similarities and differences. Two of these, often confounded in the literature, are Selective Attention (information relevance) and Perceptual Expectation (information probability). We used EEG to characterize the mechanisms that pre-activate specific contents in Attention and Expectation. In different blocks, participants were cued to the relevance or to the probability of target categories, faces vs. names, in a gender discrimination task. Multivariate Pattern (MVPA) and Representational Similarity Analyses (RSA) during the preparation window showed that both manipulations led to a significant, ramping-up prediction of the relevant or expected target category. However, classifiers trained with data from one condition did not generalize to the other, indicating the existence of unique anticipatory neural patterns. In addition, a Canonical Template Tracking procedure showed that there was stronger anticipatory perceptual reinstatement for relevance than for expectation blocks. Overall, the results indicate that preparation during attention and expectation acts through distinguishable neural mechanisms. These findings have important implications for current models of brain functioning, as they are a first step towards characterizing and dissociating the neural mechanisms involved in top-down anticipatory processing.
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37
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Kanaev IA. Entropy and Cross-Level Orderliness in Light of the Interconnection between the Neural System and Consciousness. ENTROPY (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2023; 25:418. [PMID: 36981307 PMCID: PMC10047885 DOI: 10.3390/e25030418] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/30/2022] [Revised: 02/01/2023] [Accepted: 02/20/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
Despite recent advances, the origin and utility of consciousness remains under debate. Using an evolutionary perspective on the origin of consciousness, this review elaborates on the promising theoretical background suggested in the temporospatial theory of consciousness, which outlines world-brain alignment as a critical predisposition for controlling behavior and adaptation. Such a system can be evolutionarily effective only if it can provide instant cohesion between the subsystems, which is possible only if it performs an intrinsic activity modified in light of the incoming stimulation. One can assume that the world-brain interaction results in a particular interference pattern predetermined by connectome complexity. This is what organisms experience as their exclusive subjective state, allowing the anticipation of regularities in the environment. Thus, an anticipative system can emerge only in a regular environment, which guides natural selection by reinforcing corresponding reactions and decreasing the system entropy. Subsequent evolution requires complicated, layered structures and can be traced from simple organisms to human consciousness and society. This allows us to consider the mode of entropy as a subject of natural evolution rather than an individual entity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ilya A Kanaev
- Department of Philosophy, Sun Yat-sen University, 135 Xingang Xi Rd, Guangzhou 510275, China
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Magnetoencephalography recordings reveal the neural mechanisms of auditory contributions to improved visual detection. Commun Biol 2023; 6:12. [PMID: 36604455 PMCID: PMC9816120 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-022-04335-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/02/2022] [Accepted: 12/01/2022] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Sounds enhance the detection of visual stimuli while concurrently biasing an observer's decisions. To investigate the neural mechanisms that underlie such multisensory interactions, we decoded time-resolved Signal Detection Theory sensitivity and criterion parameters from magneto-encephalographic recordings of participants that performed a visual detection task. We found that sounds improved visual detection sensitivity by enhancing the accumulation and maintenance of perceptual evidence over time. Meanwhile, criterion decoding analyses revealed that sounds induced brain activity patterns that resembled the patterns evoked by an actual visual stimulus. These two complementary mechanisms of audiovisual interplay differed in terms of their automaticity: Whereas the sound-induced enhancement in visual sensitivity depended on participants being actively engaged in a detection task, we found that sounds activated the visual cortex irrespective of task demands, potentially inducing visual illusory percepts. These results challenge the classical assumption that sound-induced increases in false alarms exclusively correspond to decision-level biases.
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Pascucci D, Tanrikulu ÖD, Ozkirli A, Houborg C, Ceylan G, Zerr P, Rafiei M, Kristjánsson Á. Serial dependence in visual perception: A review. J Vis 2023; 23:9. [PMID: 36648418 PMCID: PMC9871508 DOI: 10.1167/jov.23.1.9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 27.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/12/2022] [Accepted: 11/18/2022] [Indexed: 01/18/2023] Open
Abstract
How does the visual system represent continuity in the constantly changing visual input? A recent proposal is that vision is serially dependent: Stimuli seen a moment ago influence what we perceive in the present. In line with this, recent frameworks suggest that the visual system anticipates whether an object seen at one moment is the same as the one seen a moment ago, binding visual representations across consecutive perceptual episodes. A growing body of work supports this view, revealing signatures of serial dependence in many diverse visual tasks. Yet, the variety of disparate findings and interpretations calls for a more general picture. Here, we survey the main paradigms and results over the past decade. We also focus on the challenge of finding a relationship between serial dependence and the concept of "object identity," taking centuries-long history of research into account. Among the seemingly contrasting findings on serial dependence, we highlight common patterns that may elucidate the nature of this phenomenon and attempt to identify questions that are unanswered.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Pascucci
- Laboratory of Psychophysics, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Ömer Daglar Tanrikulu
- Department of Psychology, University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH, USA
- Vision Sciences Laboratory, School of Health Sciences, University of Iceland, Reykjavik, Iceland
| | - Ayberk Ozkirli
- Laboratory of Psychophysics, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Christian Houborg
- Vision Sciences Laboratory, School of Health Sciences, University of Iceland, Reykjavik, Iceland
| | - Gizay Ceylan
- Laboratory of Psychophysics, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Paul Zerr
- Vision Sciences Laboratory, School of Health Sciences, University of Iceland, Reykjavik, Iceland
| | - Mohsen Rafiei
- Vision Sciences Laboratory, School of Health Sciences, University of Iceland, Reykjavik, Iceland
| | - Árni Kristjánsson
- Vision Sciences Laboratory, School of Health Sciences, University of Iceland, Reykjavik, Iceland
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Zeng J, Meng J, Wang C, Leng W, Zhong X, Gong A, Bo S, Jiang C. High vagally mediated resting-state heart rate variability is associated with superior working memory function. Front Neurosci 2023; 17:1119405. [PMID: 36891458 PMCID: PMC9986304 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2023.1119405] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/09/2022] [Accepted: 01/30/2023] [Indexed: 02/22/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Heart rate variability (HRV), a cardiac vagal tone indicator, has been proven to predict performance on some cognitive tasks that rely on the prefrontal cortex. However, the relationship between vagal tone and working memory remains understudied. This study explores the link between vagal tone and working memory function, combined with behavioral tasks and functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). Methods A total of 42 undergraduate students were tested for 5-min resting-state HRV to obtain the root mean square of successive differences (rMSSD) data, and then divided into high and low vagal tone groups according to the median of rMSSD data. The two groups underwent the n-back test, and fNIRS was used to measure the neural activity in the test state. ANOVA and the independent sample t-test were performed to compare group mean differences, and the Pearson correlation coefficient was used for correlation analysis. Results The high vagal tone group had a shorter reaction time, higher accuracy, lower inverse efficiency score, and lower oxy-Hb concentration in the bilateral prefrontal cortex in the working memory tasks state. Furthermore, there were associations between behavioral performance, oxy-Hb concentration, and resting-state rMSSD. Conclusion Our findings suggest that high vagally mediated resting-state HRV is associated with working memory performance. High vagal tone means a higher efficiency of neural resources, beneficial to presenting a better working memory function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jia Zeng
- The Center of Neuroscience and Sports, Capital University of Physical Education and Sports, Beijing, China
| | - Jiao Meng
- The Center of Neuroscience and Sports, Capital University of Physical Education and Sports, Beijing, China
| | - Chen Wang
- The Center of Neuroscience and Sports, Capital University of Physical Education and Sports, Beijing, China
| | - Wenwu Leng
- The Center of Neuroscience and Sports, Capital University of Physical Education and Sports, Beijing, China
| | - Xiaoke Zhong
- The Center of Neuroscience and Sports, Capital University of Physical Education and Sports, Beijing, China
| | - Anmin Gong
- School of Information Engineering, Engineering University of People's Armed Police, Xi'an, China
| | - Shumin Bo
- School of Kinesiology and Health, Capital University of Physical Education and Sports, Beijing, China
| | - Changhao Jiang
- The Center of Neuroscience and Sports, Capital University of Physical Education and Sports, Beijing, China.,School of Kinesiology and Health, Capital University of Physical Education and Sports, Beijing, China
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Kozachkov L, Tauber J, Lundqvist M, Brincat SL, Slotine JJ, Miller EK. Robust and brain-like working memory through short-term synaptic plasticity. PLoS Comput Biol 2022; 18:e1010776. [PMID: 36574424 PMCID: PMC9829165 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1010776] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/02/2022] [Revised: 01/09/2023] [Accepted: 11/29/2022] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Working memory has long been thought to arise from sustained spiking/attractor dynamics. However, recent work has suggested that short-term synaptic plasticity (STSP) may help maintain attractor states over gaps in time with little or no spiking. To determine if STSP endows additional functional advantages, we trained artificial recurrent neural networks (RNNs) with and without STSP to perform an object working memory task. We found that RNNs with and without STSP were able to maintain memories despite distractors presented in the middle of the memory delay. However, RNNs with STSP showed activity that was similar to that seen in the cortex of a non-human primate (NHP) performing the same task. By contrast, RNNs without STSP showed activity that was less brain-like. Further, RNNs with STSP were more robust to network degradation than RNNs without STSP. These results show that STSP can not only help maintain working memories, it also makes neural networks more robust and brain-like.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leo Kozachkov
- The Picower Institute for Learning & Memory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America
- Department of Brain & Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America
- Nonlinear Systems Laboratory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - John Tauber
- The Picower Institute for Learning & Memory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America
- Department of Brain & Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America
- Institute for Data, Systems, and Society, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Mikael Lundqvist
- The Picower Institute for Learning & Memory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America
- Department of Brain & Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Scott L. Brincat
- The Picower Institute for Learning & Memory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Jean-Jacques Slotine
- Department of Brain & Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America
- Nonlinear Systems Laboratory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Earl K. Miller
- The Picower Institute for Learning & Memory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America
- Department of Brain & Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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Cihak HL, Eissa TL, Kilpatrick ZP. Distinct Excitatory and Inhibitory Bump Wandering in a Stochastic Neural Field. SIAM JOURNAL ON APPLIED DYNAMICAL SYSTEMS 2022; 21:2579-2609. [PMID: 38250343 PMCID: PMC10798676 DOI: 10.1137/22m1482329] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/23/2024]
Abstract
Localized persistent cortical neural activity is a validated neural substrate of parametric working memory. Such activity "bumps" represent the continuous location of a cue over several seconds. Pyramidal (excitatory (E )) and interneuronal (inhibitory (I )) subpopulations exhibit tuned bumps of activity, linking neural dynamics to behavioral inaccuracies observed in memory recall. However, many bump attractor models collapse these subpopulations into a single joint E /I (lateral inhibitory) population and do not consider the role of interpopulation neural architecture and noise correlations. Both factors have a high potential to impinge upon the stochastic dynamics of these bumps, ultimately shaping behavioral response variance. In our study, we consider a neural field model with separate E /I populations and leverage asymptotic analysis to derive a nonlinear Langevin system describing E /I bump interactions. While the E bump attracts the I bump, the I bump stabilizes but can also repel the E bump, which can result in prolonged relaxation dynamics when both bumps are perturbed. Furthermore, the structure of noise correlations within and between subpopulations strongly shapes the variance in bump position. Surprisingly, higher interpopulation correlations reduce variance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Heather L Cihak
- Department of Applied Mathematics, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO 80309 USA
| | - Tahra L Eissa
- Department of Applied Mathematics, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO 80309 USA
| | - Zachary P Kilpatrick
- Department of Applied Mathematics, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO 80309 USA
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Ranieri G, Benedetto A, Ho HT, Burr DC, Morrone MC. Evidence of Serial Dependence from Decoding of Visual Evoked Potentials. J Neurosci 2022; 42:8817-8825. [PMID: 36223998 PMCID: PMC9698666 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.1879-21.2022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/17/2021] [Revised: 07/19/2022] [Accepted: 07/21/2022] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
Abstract
It is well known that recent sensory experience influences perception, recently demonstrated by a phenomenon termed "serial dependence." However, its underlying neural mechanisms are poorly understood. We measured ERP responses to pairs of stimuli presented randomly to the left or right hemifield. Seventeen male and female adults judged whether the upper or lower half of the grating had higher spatial frequency, independent of the horizontal position of the grating. This design allowed us to trace the memory signal modulating task performance and also the implicit memory signal associated with hemispheric position. Using classification techniques, we decoded the position of the current and previous stimuli and the response from voltage scalp distributions of the current trial. Classification of previous responses reached full significance only 700 ms after presentation of the current stimulus, consistent with retrieval of an activity-silent memory trace. Cross-condition classification accuracy of past responses (trained on current responses) correlated with the strength of serial dependence effects of individual participants. Overall, our data provide evidence for a silent memory signal that can be decoded from the EEG potential, which interacts with the neural processing of the current stimulus. This silent memory signal could be the physiological substrate subserving at least one type of serial dependence.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT The neurophysiological underpinnings of how past perceptual experience affects current perception are poorly understood. Here, we show that recent experience is reactivated when a new stimulus is presented and that the strength of this reactivation correlates with serial biases in individual participants, suggesting that serial dependence is established on the basis of a silent memory signal.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giacomo Ranieri
- Department of Neuroscience, Psychology, Pharmacology, and Child Health, University of Florence, 50135 Florence, Italy
| | - Alessandro Benedetto
- Department of Translational Research on New Technologies in Medicine and Surgery, University of Pisa, 56123 Pisa, Italy
| | - Hao Tam Ho
- Department of Neuroscience, Psychology, Pharmacology, and Child Health, University of Florence, 50135 Florence, Italy
| | - David C Burr
- Department of Neuroscience, Psychology, Pharmacology, and Child Health, University of Florence, 50135 Florence, Italy
| | - Maria Concetta Morrone
- Department of Translational Research on New Technologies in Medicine and Surgery, University of Pisa, 56123 Pisa, Italy
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Attractive and repulsive effects of sensory history concurrently shape visual perception. BMC Biol 2022; 20:247. [DOI: 10.1186/s12915-022-01444-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/03/2022] [Accepted: 10/19/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Background
Sequential effects of environmental stimuli are ubiquitous in most behavioral tasks involving magnitude estimation, memory, decision making, and emotion. The human visual system exploits continuity in the visual environment, which induces two contrasting perceptual phenomena shaping visual perception. Previous work reported that perceptual estimation of a stimulus may be influenced either by attractive serial dependencies or repulsive aftereffects, with a number of experimental variables suggested as factors determining the direction and magnitude of sequential effects. Recent studies have theorized that these two effects concurrently arise in perceptual processing, but empirical evidence that directly supports this hypothesis is lacking, and it remains unclear whether and how attractive and repulsive sequential effects interact in a trial. Here we show that the two effects concurrently modulate estimation behavior in a typical sequence of perceptual tasks.
Results
We first demonstrate that observers’ estimation error as a function of both the previous stimulus and response cannot be fully described by either attractive or repulsive bias but is instead well captured by a summation of repulsion from the previous stimulus and attraction toward the previous response. We then reveal that the repulsive bias is centered on the observer’s sensory encoding of the previous stimulus, which is again repelled away from its own preceding trial, whereas the attractive bias is centered precisely on the previous response, which is the observer’s best prediction about the incoming stimuli.
Conclusions
Our findings provide strong evidence that sensory encoding is shaped by dynamic tuning of the system to the past stimuli, inducing repulsive aftereffects, and followed by inference incorporating the prediction from the past estimation, leading to attractive serial dependence.
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Multiple forms of working memory emerge from synapse-astrocyte interactions in a neuron-glia network model. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2022; 119:e2207912119. [PMID: 36256810 PMCID: PMC9618090 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2207912119] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Persistent activity in populations of neurons, time-varying activity across a neural population, or activity-silent mechanisms carried out by hidden internal states of the neural population have been proposed as different mechanisms of working memory (WM). Whether these mechanisms could be mutually exclusive or occur in the same neuronal circuit remains, however, elusive, and so do their biophysical underpinnings. While WM is traditionally regarded to depend purely on neuronal mechanisms, cortical networks also include astrocytes that can modulate neural activity. We propose and investigate a network model that includes both neurons and glia and show that glia-synapse interactions can lead to multiple stable states of synaptic transmission. Depending on parameters, these interactions can lead in turn to distinct patterns of network activity that can serve as substrates for WM.
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Persistent activity in human parietal cortex mediates perceptual choice repetition bias. Nat Commun 2022; 13:6015. [PMID: 36224207 PMCID: PMC9556658 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-33237-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2021] [Accepted: 09/08/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Humans and other animals tend to repeat or alternate their previous choices, even when judging sensory stimuli presented in a random sequence. It is unclear if and how sensory, associative, and motor cortical circuits produce these idiosyncratic behavioral biases. Here, we combined behavioral modeling of a visual perceptual decision with magnetoencephalographic (MEG) analyses of neural dynamics, across multiple regions of the human cerebral cortex. We identified distinct history-dependent neural signals in motor and posterior parietal cortex. Gamma-band activity in parietal cortex tracked previous choices in a sustained fashion, and biased evidence accumulation toward choice repetition; sustained beta-band activity in motor cortex inversely reflected the previous motor action, and biased the accumulation starting point toward alternation. The parietal, not motor, signal mediated the impact of previous on current choice and reflected individual differences in choice repetition. In sum, parietal cortical signals seem to play a key role in shaping choice sequences.
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Xie H, Xiong D, Zhu P, Li H, Zhang H, Tan J, Zhao N. Effectiveness and safety of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation on memory disorder in stroke: A protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis. Medicine (Baltimore) 2022; 101:e30933. [PMID: 36221389 PMCID: PMC9542838 DOI: 10.1097/md.0000000000030933] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/05/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Approximately 23% to 55% of patients have memory impairments with a greatly negative effect on daily life 3 months after stroke. Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) has been widely used in the rehabilitation of stroke as it is safe, painless, and noninvasive. Moreover, few studies have investigated the effect of rTMS on poststroke memory disorder (PSMD). However, the efficacy of rTMS is not consistent and the optional stimulation frequency is unclear. Therefore, this protocol aims to evaluate the clinical effect and safety of rTMS on PSMD by analyzing results from randomized controlled trials. METHODS Search strategies will be performed on seven databases: PubMed, EMBASE, CENTRAL, Chinese Biomedical Literature Database (CBM), Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Wan Fang, and Technology Periodical Database (VIP). Only randomized controlled trials registered before August 2021 will be included. Additionally, the language will be limited to English or Chinese. For the outcome, we will focus on the Rivermead Behavioral Memory Test. Additionally, the Montreal Cognitive Assessment, Mini-mental State Examination, Modified Barthel Index, and advent events will be included. Two authors will independently select the study, extract data, and assess quality. Moreover, disagreements will be resolved by the third author. STATA 14 and Review Manager 5.4 will be used to perform the analysis. We will evaluate bias risk in accordance with the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions. To assess the quality of evidence, the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation method will be employed. RESULTS This study will provide a comprehensive analysis of the current evidence on rTMS for PSMD. CONCLUSION A reliable conclusion regarding whether rTMS is an effective and safe intervention for patients with PSMD and the effect of stimulation frequency and sham stimulation will be provided. This study will provide new insights for TMS in treating PSMD, and offer appropriate treatmentoptions to patients and clinicians. PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER CRD42021282439.
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Affiliation(s)
- Haihua Xie
- College of Acupuncture-Moxibustion and Tuina, Hunan University of Chinese Medicine, Changsha, China
- Department of Rehabilitation, The 6th Affiliated Hospital of Shenzhen University Health Science Center, Shenzhen, China
| | - Dan Xiong
- College of Acupuncture-Moxibustion and Tuina, Hunan University of Chinese Medicine, Changsha, China
- Department of Rehabilitation, The 6th Affiliated Hospital of Shenzhen University Health Science Center, Shenzhen, China
| | - Pan Zhu
- College of Acupuncture-Moxibustion and Tuina, Hunan University of Chinese Medicine, Changsha, China
- Department of Rehabilitation, The 6th Affiliated Hospital of Shenzhen University Health Science Center, Shenzhen, China
| | - Hao Li
- Department of Rehabilitation, The 6th Affiliated Hospital of Shenzhen University Health Science Center, Shenzhen, China
| | - Hong Zhang
- College of Acupuncture-Moxibustion and Tuina, Hunan University of Chinese Medicine, Changsha, China
| | - Jie Tan
- College of Acupuncture-Moxibustion and Tuina, Hunan University of Chinese Medicine, Changsha, China
- *Correspondence: Ning Zhao, Department of Rehabilitation, The 6th Affiliated Hospital of Shenzhen University Health Science Center, Shenzhen 518052, China (e-mail: ) and Jie Tan, College of Acupuncture-Moxibustion and Tuina, Hunan University of Chinese Medicine, Changsha 410208, China (e-mail: )
| | - Ning Zhao
- Department of Rehabilitation, The 6th Affiliated Hospital of Shenzhen University Health Science Center, Shenzhen, China
- *Correspondence: Ning Zhao, Department of Rehabilitation, The 6th Affiliated Hospital of Shenzhen University Health Science Center, Shenzhen 518052, China (e-mail: ) and Jie Tan, College of Acupuncture-Moxibustion and Tuina, Hunan University of Chinese Medicine, Changsha 410208, China (e-mail: )
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Tiddia G, Golosio B, Fanti V, Paolucci PS. Simulations of working memory spiking networks driven by short-term plasticity. Front Integr Neurosci 2022; 16:972055. [PMID: 36262372 PMCID: PMC9574057 DOI: 10.3389/fnint.2022.972055] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/17/2022] [Accepted: 08/29/2022] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Working Memory (WM) is a cognitive mechanism that enables temporary holding and manipulation of information in the human brain. This mechanism is mainly characterized by a neuronal activity during which neuron populations are able to maintain an enhanced spiking activity after being triggered by a short external cue. In this study, we implement, using the NEST simulator, a spiking neural network model in which the WM activity is sustained by a mechanism of short-term synaptic facilitation related to presynaptic calcium kinetics. The model, which is characterized by leaky integrate-and-fire neurons with exponential postsynaptic currents, is able to autonomously show an activity regime in which the memory information can be stored in a synaptic form as a result of synaptic facilitation, with spiking activity functional to facilitation maintenance. The network is able to simultaneously keep multiple memories by showing an alternated synchronous activity which preserves the synaptic facilitation within the neuron populations holding memory information. The results shown in this study confirm that a WM mechanism can be sustained by synaptic facilitation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gianmarco Tiddia
- Department of Physics, University of Cagliari, Monserrato, Italy
- Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (INFN), Sezione di Cagliari, Monserrato, Italy
| | - Bruno Golosio
- Department of Physics, University of Cagliari, Monserrato, Italy
- Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (INFN), Sezione di Cagliari, Monserrato, Italy
- *Correspondence: Bruno Golosio
| | - Viviana Fanti
- Department of Physics, University of Cagliari, Monserrato, Italy
- Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (INFN), Sezione di Cagliari, Monserrato, Italy
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Becker S, Nold A, Tchumatchenko T. Modulation of working memory duration by synaptic and astrocytic mechanisms. PLoS Comput Biol 2022; 18:e1010543. [PMID: 36191056 PMCID: PMC9560596 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1010543] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/30/2021] [Revised: 10/13/2022] [Accepted: 09/05/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Short-term synaptic plasticity and modulations of the presynaptic vesicle release rate are key components of many working memory models. At the same time, an increasing number of studies suggests a potential role of astrocytes in modulating higher cognitive function such as WM through their influence on synaptic transmission. Which influence astrocytic signaling could have on the stability and duration of WM representations, however, is still unclear. Here, we introduce a slow, activity-dependent astrocytic regulation of the presynaptic release probability in a synaptic attractor model of WM. We compare and analyze simulations of a simple WM protocol in firing rate and spiking networks with and without astrocytic regulation, and underpin our observations with analyses of the phase space dynamics in the rate network. We find that the duration and stability of working memory representations are altered by astrocytic signaling and by noise. We show that astrocytic signaling modulates the mean duration of WM representations. Moreover, if the astrocytic regulation is strong, a slow presynaptic timescale introduces a ‘window of vulnerability’, during which WM representations are easily disruptable by noise before being stabilized. We identify two mechanisms through which noise from different sources in the network can either stabilize or destabilize WM representations. Our findings suggest that (i) astrocytic regulation can act as a crucial determinant for the duration of WM representations in synaptic attractor models of WM, and (ii) that astrocytic signaling could facilitate different mechanisms for volitional top-down control of WM representations and their duration. The ability to form memories and recall them is one of the fascinating features of our brain. Working memory operates like a memory scratch pad storing ongoing information for further processing. Here, we present a computational model dissecting the influence of astrocytes on the stability and duration of working memories. We find that a long astrocytic time constant can influence the mean duration of working memory representations and generate a “window of vulnerability”, during which some memories are tagged for long-term survival while some are terminated. The fraction of memories in the survival and termination groups could be regulated by adjusting the strength of astrocytic feedback or its time constant. This indicates that astrocytic signaling can be viewed as a candidate mechanism for top-down control of working memory representations and their duration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sophia Becker
- Laboratory of Computational Neuroscience, Brain Mind Institute, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
- Theory of Neural Dynamics group, Max Planck Institute for Brain Research, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - Andreas Nold
- Theory of Neural Dynamics group, Max Planck Institute for Brain Research, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
- Institute of Experimental Epileptology and Cognition Research, Life and Brain Center, Universitätsklinikum Bonn, Bonn, Germany
| | - Tatjana Tchumatchenko
- Theory of Neural Dynamics group, Max Planck Institute for Brain Research, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
- Institute of Experimental Epileptology and Cognition Research, Life and Brain Center, Universitätsklinikum Bonn, Bonn, Germany
- Institute for Physiological Chemistry, Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz, Mainz, Germany
- * E-mail:
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Pittolo S, Yokoyama S, Willoughby DD, Taylor CR, Reitman ME, Tse V, Wu Z, Etchenique R, Li Y, Poskanzer KE. Dopamine activates astrocytes in prefrontal cortex via α1-adrenergic receptors. Cell Rep 2022; 40:111426. [PMID: 36170823 PMCID: PMC9555850 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2022.111426] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/15/2021] [Revised: 07/19/2022] [Accepted: 09/08/2022] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
The prefrontal cortex (PFC) is a hub for cognitive control, and dopamine profoundly influences its functions. In other brain regions, astrocytes sense diverse neurotransmitters and neuromodulators and, in turn, orchestrate regulation of neuroactive substances. However, basic physiology of PFC astrocytes, including which neuromodulatory signals they respond to and how they contribute to PFC function, is unclear. Here, we characterize divergent signaling signatures in mouse astrocytes of the PFC and primary sensory cortex, which show differential responsiveness to locomotion. We find that PFC astrocytes express receptors for dopamine but are unresponsive through the Gs/Gi-cAMP pathway. Instead, fast calcium signals in PFC astrocytes are time locked to dopamine release and are mediated by α1-adrenergic receptors both ex vivo and in vivo. Further, we describe dopamine-triggered regulation of extracellular ATP at PFC astrocyte territories. Thus, we identify astrocytes as active players in dopaminergic signaling in the PFC, contributing to PFC function though neuromodulator receptor crosstalk. Pittolo et al. demonstrate that the neuromodulator dopamine targets astrocytes, a type of brain cell, via receptors specific to another neuromodulator—norepinephrine. This study provides groundwork on how dopamine affects non-neuronal brain cells and suggests that crosstalk between neuromodulatory pathways occurs in vivo, with possible clinical implications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Silvia Pittolo
- Department of Biochemistry & Biophysics, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Sae Yokoyama
- Department of Biochemistry & Biophysics, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Drew D Willoughby
- Department of Biochemistry & Biophysics, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA; Neuroscience Graduate Program, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Charlotte R Taylor
- Department of Biochemistry & Biophysics, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA; Neuroscience Graduate Program, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Michael E Reitman
- Department of Biochemistry & Biophysics, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA; Neuroscience Graduate Program, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Vincent Tse
- Department of Biochemistry & Biophysics, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Zhaofa Wu
- State Key Laboratory of Membrane Biology, Peking University School of Life Sciences, Beijing 100871, China; Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
| | - Roberto Etchenique
- Departamento de Química Inorgánica, Analítica y Química Física, INQUIMAE, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, CONICET, Intendente Güiraldes 2160, Ciudad Universitaria, Pabellón 2, C1428EGA, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Yulong Li
- State Key Laboratory of Membrane Biology, Peking University School of Life Sciences, Beijing 100871, China; Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
| | - Kira E Poskanzer
- Department of Biochemistry & Biophysics, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA; Neuroscience Graduate Program, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA; Kavli Institute for Fundamental Neuroscience, San Francisco, CA, USA.
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