Working Memory 2.0

By Earl K. Miller, Mikael Lundqvist, André Moraes Bastos. Neuron, 2018

690 citations recorded by the source corpus.

Working memory (WM) is the fundamental function by which we break free from reflexive input-output reactions to gain control over our own thoughts. It has two types of mechanisms: online maintenance of information and its volitional or executive control. Classic models proposed persistent spiking for maintenance but have not explicitly addressed executive control. We review recent theoretical and empirical studies that suggest updates/additions to the classic model. Synaptic weight changes between sparse bursts of spiking strengthen WM maintenance. Executive control acts via interplay between network oscillations in gamma (30-100 Hz) in superficial cortical layers (layers 2 & 3) and alpha/beta (10-30 Hz) in deep cortical layers (layers 5 & 6). Deep-layer alpha/beta is associated with top-down information and inhibition. It regulates the flow of bottom-up sensory information associated with superficial layer gamma. We propose that interactions between different rhythms in distinct cortical layers underlie WM maintenance and its volitional control.

Subfields: Cognitive Neuroscience

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/691e45e5569ca7b0b9d112ed4be01a9c85bd559e

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In Cognitive Neuroscience

Citations in the corpus

Cognitive impairment in schizophrenia: aetiology, pathophysiology, and treatment (2023, background): “In controls, gamma oscillations are associated with working memory, and memory tasks elicit an increase in pyramidal neuron ﬁ ring which is manifest as an increase in gamma power [234, 235].”
Computation Through Neural Population Dynamics (2020, background): “Other studies spanning working memory and its representations are reviewed in depth by Chaudhuri & Fiete (2016) and Miller et al. (2018).”
Human intracranial correlates of dynamic coding in auditory working memory (2026, unknown): “…has been shifting from the “where” in the brain is WM maintained to the neurophysiological question of “how” neurons maintain information of WM content (Barak & Tsodyks, 2014; Christophel et al., 2017; D'Esposito & Postle, 2015; Miller, Lundqvist, & Bastos, 2018; Serences, 2016; Stokes, 2015).”
Multiplexed Levels of Cognitive Control through Delta and Theta Neural Oscillations (2024, background): “Conversely, the desynchronization of alpha/beta oscillations may reflect a mechanism of disinhibition from these inhibitory control signals, which allows reading out relevant information from working memory (Buschman & Miller, 2022; Miller, Lundqvist, & Bastos, 2018).”
Multimodal neuroimaging of hierarchical cognitive control. (2024, background): “…inhibitory control signals that regulate access to representations stored in memory (Klimesch, 2012; Lundqvist et al., 2023; van Ede, 2018) and a disinhibition from these signals, as measured by desynchronization, would allow reading out relevant information from memory (Miller et al., 2018).”
Human Beta Oscillations Reflect Magnitude and Fidelity of Priority Shifts in Working Memory (2026, unknown): “Parallel work has emphasized the role of beta oscillations (15 – 30 Hz) in WM (Lundqvist et al., 2016; Spitzer and Haegens, 2017; Miller et al., 2018; Liljefors et al., 2024) but their role in prioritization is less clear, as priority switches likely require multiple subprocesses that could be…”
Task‐specific topology of brain networks supporting working memory and inhibition (2024, background): “Miller et al. ( 2018) also explain the frequency-related separation of information processing in WM by suggesting that low-frequency activity suppresses high-frequency bursts, thereby regulating information maintenance in WM.”
Distinct functions for beta and alpha bursts in gating of human working memory (2023, background): “While we reported task-speci ﬁ c modulation of alpha and beta bursting in most of the brain, the patterns were relatively weak in prefrontal regions, at odds with the strong focus on the prefrontal cortex in non-human primate WM 3,5 .”
Does rehearsal benefit visual memory? The role of semantic associations in the maintenance of intact and phase-scrambled scenes (2019, unknown): “…of activity is consistent with recent reports that maintenance is not necessarily supported by persistent delay activity in prefrontal regions (Miller et al., 2018; Sreenivasan and D’Esposito, 2019); instead delay activity may reflect more complex processes going on throughout the cortex and…”