Reduced variability of bursting activity during working memory
Abstract Working memories have long been thought to be maintained by persistent spiking. However, mounting evidence from multiple-electrode recording (and single-trial analyses) shows that the underlying spiking is better characterized by intermittent bursts of activity. A counterargument suggested...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Nature Portfolio
2022-09-01
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| Series: | Scientific Reports |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-18577-y |
| _version_ | 1811273761330036736 |
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| author | Mikael Lundqvist Jonas Rose Scott L. Brincat Melissa R. Warden Timothy J. Buschman Pawel Herman Earl K. Miller |
| author_facet | Mikael Lundqvist Jonas Rose Scott L. Brincat Melissa R. Warden Timothy J. Buschman Pawel Herman Earl K. Miller |
| author_sort | Mikael Lundqvist |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Working memories have long been thought to be maintained by persistent spiking. However, mounting evidence from multiple-electrode recording (and single-trial analyses) shows that the underlying spiking is better characterized by intermittent bursts of activity. A counterargument suggested this intermittent activity is at odds with observations that spike-time variability reduces during task performance. However, this counterargument rests on assumptions, such as randomness in the timing of the bursts, which may not be correct. Thus, we analyzed spiking and LFPs from monkeys’ prefrontal cortex (PFC) to determine if task-related reductions in variability can co-exist with intermittent spiking. We found that it does because both spiking and associated gamma bursts were task-modulated, not random. In fact, the task-related reduction in spike variability could largely be explained by a related reduction in gamma burst variability. Our results provide further support for the intermittent activity models of working memory as well as novel mechanistic insights into how spike variability is reduced during cognitive tasks. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-12T23:06:15Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-dd13372a5a2c402bb9270a04551ce2d6 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2045-2322 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-12T23:06:15Z |
| publishDate | 2022-09-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Scientific Reports |
| spelling | doaj.art-dd13372a5a2c402bb9270a04551ce2d62022-12-22T03:12:55ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222022-09-0112111010.1038/s41598-022-18577-yReduced variability of bursting activity during working memoryMikael Lundqvist0Jonas Rose1Scott L. Brincat2Melissa R. Warden3Timothy J. Buschman4Pawel Herman5Earl K. Miller6Department of Psychology, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska InstituteThe Picower Institute for Learning and Memory and Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyThe Picower Institute for Learning and Memory and Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyThe Picower Institute for Learning and Memory and Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyThe Picower Institute for Learning and Memory and Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyDepartment of Computational Science and Technology, School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and Digital Futures, KTH Royal Institute of TechnologyThe Picower Institute for Learning and Memory and Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyAbstract Working memories have long been thought to be maintained by persistent spiking. However, mounting evidence from multiple-electrode recording (and single-trial analyses) shows that the underlying spiking is better characterized by intermittent bursts of activity. A counterargument suggested this intermittent activity is at odds with observations that spike-time variability reduces during task performance. However, this counterargument rests on assumptions, such as randomness in the timing of the bursts, which may not be correct. Thus, we analyzed spiking and LFPs from monkeys’ prefrontal cortex (PFC) to determine if task-related reductions in variability can co-exist with intermittent spiking. We found that it does because both spiking and associated gamma bursts were task-modulated, not random. In fact, the task-related reduction in spike variability could largely be explained by a related reduction in gamma burst variability. Our results provide further support for the intermittent activity models of working memory as well as novel mechanistic insights into how spike variability is reduced during cognitive tasks.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-18577-y |
| spellingShingle | Mikael Lundqvist Jonas Rose Scott L. Brincat Melissa R. Warden Timothy J. Buschman Pawel Herman Earl K. Miller Reduced variability of bursting activity during working memory Scientific Reports |
| title | Reduced variability of bursting activity during working memory |
| title_full | Reduced variability of bursting activity during working memory |
| title_fullStr | Reduced variability of bursting activity during working memory |
| title_full_unstemmed | Reduced variability of bursting activity during working memory |
| title_short | Reduced variability of bursting activity during working memory |
| title_sort | reduced variability of bursting activity during working memory |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-18577-y |
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