biostudies-literatureUnknown8(1)Chen CRetrospective cues in working memory (WM) prioritize relevant information and guide attention toward target items to optimize behavior. Although the frontoparietal attention network is known to support this top-down attention mechanism, the broader cortical network behind this process remains elusive. Here, by combining EEG source localization with Bayesian non-negative matrix factorization, we identify nine WM task-related subnetworks, including two newly identified networks: the left parahippocampal-insula network (lPIN) and the right parahippocampal-insula network (rPIN). Dynamic network similarity (DNS) analysis reveals that the brain rapidly transitions into a 'silent' state following memory encoding. During retention, both retro- and neutral-cues reactivate memory representation; howCommunications biology1648https://www.ebi.ac.uk/biostudies/studies/S-EPMC12644547biostudies-literaturePrioritizing flexible working memory representations relies on the involvement of the parahippocampal-insula network during memory reactivation.PMC12644547Xie YLi CXu PZhang XLi FYao DXu SYi CChen CZhao JfalsePrioritizing flexible working memory representations relies on the involvement of the parahippocampal-insula network during memory reactivation.Retrospective cues in working memory (WM) prioritize relevant information and guide attention toward target items to optimize behavior. Although the frontoparietal attention network is known to support this top-down attention mechanism, the broader cortical network behind this process remains elusive. Here, by combining EEG source localization with Bayesian non-negative matrix factorization, we identify nine WM task-related subnetworks, including two newly identified networks: the left parahippocampal-insula network (lPIN) and the right parahippocampal-insula network (rPIN). Dynamic network similarity (DNS) analysis reveals that the brain rapidly transitions into a 'silent' state following memory encoding. During retention, both retro- and neutral-cues reactivate memory representation; how2025-01-01T00:00:00Z2025 Nov2026-06-05T19:01:13.301Z2026-05-20T03:14:24.486ZS-EPMC126445474128635510.1038/s42003-025-09029-0