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Spatial working memory alters the efficacy of input to visual cortex

Author

Listed:
  • Yaser Merrikhi

    (School of Cognitive Sciences (SCS), Institute for Research in Fundamental Sciences (IPM)
    Montana State University)

  • Kelsey Clark

    (Montana State University)

  • Eddy Albarran

    (Department of Neurobiology Stanford University)

  • Mohammadbagher Parsa

    (Gianforte School of Computing, Montana State University)

  • Marc Zirnsak

    (Department of Neurobiology Stanford University
    Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Stanford University)

  • Tirin Moore

    (Department of Neurobiology Stanford University
    Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Stanford University)

  • Behrad Noudoost

    (Montana State University)

Abstract

Prefrontal cortex modulates sensory signals in extrastriate visual cortex, in part via its direct projections from the frontal eye field (FEF), an area involved in selective attention. We find that working memory-related activity is a dominant signal within FEF input to visual cortex. Although this signal alone does not evoke spiking responses in areas V4 and MT during memory, the gain of visual responses in these areas increases, and neuronal receptive fields expand and shift towards the remembered location, improving the stimulus representation by neuronal populations. These results provide a basis for enhancing the representation of working memory targets and implicate persistent FEF activity as a basis for the interdependence of working memory and selective attention.

Suggested Citation

  • Yaser Merrikhi & Kelsey Clark & Eddy Albarran & Mohammadbagher Parsa & Marc Zirnsak & Tirin Moore & Behrad Noudoost, 2017. "Spatial working memory alters the efficacy of input to visual cortex," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 8(1), pages 1-10, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:8:y:2017:i:1:d:10.1038_ncomms15041
    DOI: 10.1038/ncomms15041
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    Cited by:

    1. Zhaoran Zhang & Edward Zagha, 2023. "Motor cortex gates distractor stimulus encoding in sensory cortex," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-17, December.
    2. Mehrabbeik, Mahtab & Shams-Ahmar, Mohammad & Levine, Alexandra T. & Jafari, Sajad & Merrikhi, Yaser, 2022. "Distinctive nonlinear dimensionality of neural spiking activity in extrastriate cortex during spatial working memory; a Higuchi fractal analysis," Chaos, Solitons & Fractals, Elsevier, vol. 158(C).
    3. Amir Akbarian & Kelsey Clark & Behrad Noudoost & Neda Nategh, 2021. "A sensory memory to preserve visual representations across eye movements," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 12(1), pages 1-9, December.

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