A Meta-Analysis Suggests Different Neural Correlates for Implicit and Explicit Learning
Roman F. Loonis, Scott L. Brincat, Evan G. Antzoulatos, Earl K. Miller
Neuron, 96(2): p521-534, 2017.
Preview by Matthew Chafee and David Crowe:
Implicit and Explicit Learning Mechanisms Meet in Monkey Prefrontal Cortex
Parthasarathy et al found that a distractor stimulus caused neural representations in the prefrontal cortex to morph into a different pattern but while still retaining information about the item in memory. This was due to mixed selectivity neurons. By contrast, the FEF had less mixed selectivity and the distractor caused it to lose information. Nice.
Mixed selectivity morphs population codes in prefrontal cortex
Aishwarya Parthasarathy, Roger Herikstad, Jit Hon Bong, Felipe Salvador Medina, Camilo Libedinsky & Shih-Cheng Yen
Nature Neuroscience (2017)
For further reading about mixed selectivity:
Fusi, S., Miller, E.K., and Rigotti, M. (2016) Why neurons mix: High dimensionality for higher cognition. Current Opinion in Neurobiology. 37:66-74 doi:10.1016/j.conb.2016.01.010. View PDF »
Rigotti, M., Barak, O., Warden, M.R., Wang, X., Daw, N.D., Miller, E.K., & Fusi, S. (2013) The importance of mixed selectivity in complex cognitive tasks. Nature, 497, 585-590, doi:10.1038/nature12160. View PDF »
American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Induction Ceremony October 7, 2017.
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences is of the nation’s most prestigious honorary societies, the academy is also a leading center for independent policy research. Members contribute to academy publications, as well as studies of science and technology policy, energy and global security, social policy and American institutions, the humanities and culture, and education.
Tomorrow, we say good bye to a great scientist and a great person. I am going to miss you, Howard.
https://www.bu.edu/today/2017/remembering-howard-eichenbaum/
Feb 14-17, 2018 in Washington, DC. See you there!
https://www.the-ins.org/meetings/future-ins-meetings/ins-washington-dc-2018
An example of mixed selectivity in a network model trained on 20 different cognitive tasks.
Yang, G. R., Song, H. F., Newsome, W. T., & Wang, X. J. (2017). Clustering and compositionality of task representations in a neural network trained to perform many cognitive tasks. bioRxiv, 183632.
To learn more about mixed selectivity and its importance for cognition, see these papers:
Rigotti, M., Barak, O., Warden, M.R., Wang, X., Daw, N.D., Miller, E.K., & Fusi, S. (2013) The importance of mixed selectivity in complex cognitive tasks. Nature, 497, 585-590, doi:10.1038/nature12160. View PDF »
Fusi, S., Miller, E.K., and Rigotti, M. (2016) Why neurons mix: High dimensionality for higher cognition. Current Opinion in Neurobiology. 37:66-74 doi:10.1016/j.conb.2016.01.010. View PDF »
There is a growing consensus that there may be more to working memory than simple maintenance of spiking. On a single-trial, moment-to-moment basis, memory delay spiking is sparse, not sustained. Instead, spiking may produce changes in synaptic weights and that is where the working memories are actually stored.
Trübutschek, D., Marti, S., Ojeda, A., King, J. R., Mi, Y., Tsodyks, M., & Dehaene, S. (2017). A theory of working memory without consciousness or sustained activity. Elife, 6.
For further reading see:
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 »
Review of the neural mechanisms behind persistent spiking activity and working memory.
Zylberberg, J., & Strowbridge, B. W. (2017). Mechanisms of persistent activity in cortical circuits: possible neural substrates for working memory. Annual Review of Neuroscience, 40.
There is little doubt that spiking during memory delays play a role in working memory. But how persistent is the activity and how are the memories actually stored? For another perspective see:
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 »
The title says it all.
Slater, J., Ashley, R., Tierney, A., & Kraus, N. (2017). Got Rhythm? Better Inhibitory Control Is Linked with More Consistent Drumming and Enhanced Neural Tracking of the Musical Beat in Adult Percussionists and Nonpercussionists. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience.
Due to a disruption of top-down attentional amplification.
Berkovitch, L., Dehaene, S., & Gaillard, R. (2017). Disruption of Conscious Access in Schizophrenia. Trends in Cognitive Sciences.