title: Neural correlates of visual working memory: fMRI amplitude predicts task performance.
abstract: We used fMRI to investigate how moment-to-moment neural activity contributes to success or failure on individual trials of a visual working memory (WM) task. We found that different nodes of a distributed cortical network were activated to a greater extent for correct compared to incorrect trials during stimulus encoding, memory maintenance during delays, and at test. A logistic regression analysis revealed that the fMRI signal amplitude during the delay interval in a network of frontoparietal regions predicted successful performance on a trial-by-trial basis. Differential delay activity occurred even for only those trials in which BOLD activity during encoding was strong, demonstrating that it was not a simple consequence of effective versus ineffective encoding. Our results indicate that accurate memory depends on strong sustained signals that span the delay interval of WM tasks.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Brain and Cognition, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA. pessoa@ln.nimh.nih.gov
authors.forename: Luiz
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Pessoa
authors.forename: Eva
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Gutierrez
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Bandettini
authors.forename: Leslie
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ungerleider
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008297:Male; D008568:Memory / Q000502:physiology*; D009415:Nerve Net / Q000502:physiology*; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology*