Bidirectional Frontoparietal Oscillatory Systems Support Working Memory.

ABSTRACT: The ability to represent and select information in working memory provides the neurobiological infrastructure for human cognition. For 80 years, dominant views of working memory have focused on the key role of prefrontal cortex (PFC) [1-8]. However, more recent work has implicated posterior cortical regions [9-12], suggesting that PFC engagement during working memory is dependent on the degree of executive demand. We provide evidence from neurological patients with discrete PFC damage that challenges the dominant models attributing working memory to PFC-dependent systems. We show that neural oscillations, which provide a mechanism for PFC to communicate with posterior cortical regions [13], independently subserve communications both to and from PFC-uncovering parallel oscillatory mechanism

SUBMITTER: Johnson EL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5546232 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature