Nee and Jonides argue that short-term memory (STM) is not monolithic, but instead involves multiple processes with different characteristics. There are frontal selection mechanisms (normally associated with attention), medial temporal binding mechanisms (associated with long-term memory) and synaptic plasticity. As a result, STM involves a single representation that can be focused on, a set of active representations that focused can be switched to, and passive long-term memory representations with residual traces that can be easily activated. The authors show how this model can explain many discrepancies across studies.
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Miller Lab
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