Working Memory , Cognitive Control , and the Prefrontal Cortex : Computational and Empirical Studies

The dominant cognitive theory of working memory (WM) postulates a strict architectural segregation between components responsible for the short-term active maintenance of information and those responsible for the control and coordination of that information. Cognitive neuroscience research has provided strong evidence that the prefrontal cortex (PFC) serves as an important neural substrate of WM. However, the literature is mixed as to whether PFC should be considered a storage or control component. A theory is presented that attempts to resolve this conflict by postulating that PFC represents and actively maintains context information. These maintained representations provide a mechanism of control by serving as a top-down bias on the local competitive interactions that occur during processing. As such, it is suggested that storage and control functions are integrated within PFC. This theory is implemented as connectionist computational model. Simulation studies are described which demonstrate that the model can account for a wide range of behavioral data associated with performance of a simple task paradigm that probes both the storage and control functions of WM. Two neuroimaging studies are then presented which directly test the predictions of the model regarding the role of PFC in context processing. Taken together, the results provide new insights into the relationship between storage and control in WM, and the role of PFC in subserving these functions.

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