Does stimulus complexity determine whether working memory storage relies on prefrontal or sensory cortex?
Traditionally, working and short-term memory (WM/STM) have been believed to rely on storage systems located in prefrontal cortex (PFC). However, recent experimental and theoretical efforts have suggested that, in many cases, sensory or other task-relevant cortex is the actual storage substrate for WM/STM. What factors determine whether a given WM/STM task relies on PFC or sensory cortex? In the present article, we outline recent experimental findings and suggest that the dimensionality or complexity of the to-be-remembered property or properties of a stimulus can be a determining factor.
Department of Psychology, Wilfrid Laurier University, 75 University Avenue West, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, N2L 3C5, banc6110@mylaurier.ca.
Tyler D
TD
Bancroft
William E
WE
Hockley
Philip
P
Servos
D000161:Acoustic Stimulation; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D008570:Memory, Short-Term / Q000502:physiology*; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D017397:Prefrontal Cortex / Q000502:physiology*; D013003:Somatosensory Cortex / Q000502:physiology*; D014796:Visual Perception / Q000502:physiology