title: Content-specific fronto-parietal synchronization during visual working memory.
abstract: Lateral prefrontal and posterior parietal cortical areas exhibit task-dependent activation during working memory tasks in humans and monkeys. Neurons in these regions become synchronized during attention-demanding tasks, but the contribution of these interactions to working memory is largely unknown. Using simultaneous recordings of neural activity from multiple areas in both regions, we find widespread, task-dependent, and content-specific synchronization of activity across the fronto-parietal network during visual working memory. The patterns of synchronization are prevalent among stimulus-selective neurons and are governed by influences arising in parietal cortex. These results indicate that short-term memories are represented by large-scale patterns of synchronized activity across the fronto-parietal network.
authors.affiliation: Cell Biology and Neuroscience, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT 59717, USA.
authors.forename: R F
authors.initials: RF
authors.lastname: Salazar
authors.forename: N M
authors.initials: NM
authors.lastname: Dotson
authors.forename: S L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Bressler
authors.forename: C M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Gray
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001288:Attention; D005260:Female; D005625:Frontal Lobe / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology*; D008253:Macaca mulatta; D008570:Memory, Short-Term; D009474:Neurons / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology; D010296:Parietal Lobe / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology*; D014796:Visual Perception