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Coupled neural activity controls working memory in humans

How does the human brain temporarily store information without losing track of it? Neuroscientists have discovered that neurons in the frontal and temporal lobes work together to hold information in working memory.
  1. Ziv Williams

    1. Ziv Williams is in the Department of Neurosurgery, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02114, USA.

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Working memory is a fundamental cognitive process that allows us to hold on to information temporarily as it comes through our senses. Like a small holding bin, working memory enables us to transiently store information, such as the name of a person we’ve just met, a grocery list or facts that we’ve just learnt at a lecture. As with a small holding bin, however, it has a limited capacity and can store only a few memories at a time. Working memory is also remarkably fragile. Even minor distractors can often lead memories to seemingly disappear without a trace: think of how easily we forget the name of a person we’ve just met, after changing the topic of conversation. Although this core cognitive process has long been the topic of intense interest and investigation by neuroscientists, how the human brain manages information about items stored in working memory has remained poorly understood. Writing in Nature, Daume et al.1 report their analyses of single neurons and neural populations in people participating in a working-memory task, and provide fresh insights into how the human brain represents and controls the maintenance of information in working memory.

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doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-024-00963-3

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Competing Interests

The author declares no competing interests.

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