Stokes and Spaak review our recent work on single-trial analysis of working memory “delay” activity.   This showed that the classic profile of sustained activity as the memory substrate is an artifact of averaging across trials.  The assumption is that averaging cancels out noise.  Instead, it may be covering up important details of the dynamics of neural activity.

Read more here:
The Importance of Single-Trial Analyses in Cognitive Neuroscience
Mark Stokes and Eelke Spaak
Trends in Cognitive Sciences
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2016.05.008

The original paper:
Lunqvist, M., Rose, J., Herman, P, Brincat, S.L, Buschman, T.J., and Miller, E.K. (2016) Gamma and beta bursts underlie working memory.  Neuron, published online March 17, 2016. View PDF »

About the Author


The Miller Lab uses experimental and theoretical approaches to study the neural basis of the high-level cognitive functions that underlie complex goal-directed behavior. ekmillerlab.mit.edu