Persistent Single-Neuron Activity during Working Memory in the Human Medial Temporal Lobe.

ABSTRACT: Working memory is an essential component of human cognition. Persistent activity related to working memory has been reported in many brain areas, including the inferior temporal and prefrontal cortex [1-8]. The medial temporal lobe (MTL) contains "concept cells" that respond invariantly to specific individuals or places whether presented as images, text, or speech [9, 10]. It is unknown, however, whether the MTL also participates in working memory processes. We thus sought to determine whether human MTL neurons respond to images held in working memory. We recorded from patients with chronically intractable epilepsy as they performed a task that required them to remember three or four sequentially presented pictures across a brief delay. 48% of visually selective neurons continued to carry

SUBMITTER: Kornblith S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5510887 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature