Complementary roles for primate frontal and parietal cortex in guarding working memory from distractor stimuli

Simon Nikolas Jacob, Andreas Nieder

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

104 Scopus citations

Abstract

Prefrontal cortex (PFC) and posterior parietal cortex are important for maintaining behaviorally relevant information in working memory. Here, we challenge the commonly held view that suppression of distractors by PFC neurons is the main mechanism underlying the filtering of task-irrelevant information. We recorded single-unit activity from PFC and the ventral intraparietal area (VIP) of monkeys trained to resist distracting stimuli in a delayed-match-to-numerositytask. Surprisingly, PFC neurons preferentially encoded distractors during their presentation. Shortly after this interference, however, PFC neurons restored target information, which predicted correct behavioral decisions. In contrast, most VIPneurons only encoded target numerosities throughout the trial. Representation of target information in VIP was the earliest and most reliable neuronal correlate of behavior. Our data suggest that distracting stimuli can be bypassed by storing and retrieving target information, emphasizing active maintenance processes during working memory with complementary functions for frontal and parietal cortex in controlling memory content.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)226-237
Number of pages12
JournalNeuron
Volume83
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - 2 Jul 2014
Externally publishedYes

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Complementary roles for primate frontal and parietal cortex in guarding working memory from distractor stimuli'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this