Working memory expands shared task representations in cortex.

ABSTRACT: Cognition is thought to emerge from the flexible organization of neural activity, yet how this organization reconfigures across behaviors varying in cognitive load remains unclear. We investigated how the structure of working-memory representations in the cortex compares to task representations that do not involve working memory. We used a task-switching paradigm in virtual reality, where mice alternated between a navigation-based working-memory task and a simpler task with matched sensorimotor demands. During behavior, we simultaneously imaged three cortical areas: higher visual area AM, and two association areas-premotor (M2) and retrosplenial cortex. At the single-neuron level, trial-averaged activity appeared similar across tasks. However, pairwise correlations decreased during the wor

SUBMITTER: Diamanti EM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12621725 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature