The cognitive neuroscience of visual working memory

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Editorial

19 January 2017

Editorial: The Cognitive Neuroscience of Visual Working Memory

Zsuzsa Kaldy

and

Natasha Sigala

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7 citations

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Brighton and Sussex Medical School

University of Massachusetts Boston

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Working memory allows us to maintain and use information in mind within a short time frame, e.g. a telephone number until we dial it or add it to our list of contacts. This information can come from the sensory systems or can be recalled from our long-term memories; therefore working memory is crucial both for learning and remembering. According to the dominant neuroscientific model, a central mechanism that supports visual working memory is robust delay activity in the prefrontal cortex, which affects the stimulus processing in posterior sensory areas. In this Research Topic we debate this central tenet in light of recent experimental evidence. We bring together contributions that range from developmental psychology to single unit recordings to examine the robustness of the traditional model and explore alternative neural mechanisms that may support visual working memory. We welcome original research articles, theoretical and computational studies, review articles, and methodological advances related to the cognitive neuroscience of working memory. The scope of this Topic includes, but is not limited to, studies aimed at understanding: 1) the function of delay activity in the prefrontal cortex and other cortical brain areas; 2) alternative mechanisms that support working memory based on neural data and modeling studies; 3) the relationship of working memory with attention and other executive functions; 4) the developmental trajectory of working memory in the human brain.

Working memory allows us to maintain and use information in mind within a short time frame, e.g. a telephone number until we dial it or add it to our list of contacts. This information can come from the sensory systems or can be recalled from our long-term memories; therefore working memory is crucial both for learning and remembering. According to the dominant neuroscientific model, a central mechanism that supports visual working memory is robust delay activity in the prefrontal cortex, which affects the stimulus processing in posterior sensory areas. In this Research Topic we debate this central tenet in light of recent experimental evidence. We bring together contributions that range from developmental psychology to single unit recordings to examine the robustness of the traditional model and explore alternative neural mechanisms that may support visual working memory. We welcome original research articles, theoretical and computational studies, review articles, and methodological advances related to the cognitive neuroscience of working memory. The scope of this Topic includes, but is not limited to, studies aimed at understanding: 1) the function of delay activity in the prefrontal cortex and other cortical brain areas; 2) alternative mechanisms that support working memory based on neural data and modeling studies; 3) the relationship of working memory with attention and other executive functions; 4) the developmental trajectory of working memory in the human brain.

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Brighton and Sussex Medical School

University of Massachusetts Boston

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206,626 Total views

165,553 Article views

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Frontiers in Systems Neuroscience

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