Colloquium Series 2016-2017

Julio Martinez-Trujillo
Western University

Mechanisms of Working Memory Coding in the Primate Brain: From Single Neurons to Neuronal Ensembles

Working memory is the ability to maintain and manipulate information that is not available to the senses during short time intervals. It is currently thought that working memory arises from the sustained activity of neurons selective for spatial locations, features, and complex objects in different areas of the primate brain. One issue that has been a matter of debate is what is the role of different brain areas in working memory coding. I will present data from electrophysiological recordings along the primate visual dorsal pathway during working memory tasks and compare the fidelity of working memory representations of spatial locations and features by single neurons amongst these areas. I will then focus on the prefrontal cortex and elaborate on how interactions between neurons shape the coding of working memory within this area, and how measurements of correlated activity can reveal important aspects of the dynamics underlying working memory coding. I will finally elaborate on the implications of these different findings for current models of working memory.