Dynamics of working memory drift and information flow across the cortical hierarchy

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Li, Hsin -Hung; Ma, Wei Ji; Curtis, Clayton E.
• 署名单位: New York University; University System of Ohio; Ohio State University; New York University
• 刊物名称: PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0027-8424; 1091-6490
• DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2518110123
• 发表日期: 2026-01-27
• 页码: e2518110123
• 关键词: working memory; fmri; DYNAMICS; visual cortex; DECISION-RELATED ACTIVITY; persistent activity; CHOICE; neurons; orientation; perception; REPRESENTATIONS; DISCRIMINATION; dissociation; uncertainty

摘要

Working memory is supported by widespread and distributed brain regions spanning across the cortical hierarchy. However, how working memory content evolves and is transmitted across cortical regions remains largely unknown. Here, we investigated the flow of working memory information across the cortex using time-resolved fMRI decoding. Across multiple regions in visual and parietal cortex, we found that decoded working memory content drifted over time from the memoranda toward the later errors in memory reports, consistent with the dynamics of memory drift predicted by attractor models. These behaviorally predictive neural memory errors emerged earliest in higher-order dorsal visual area (V3AB) and intraparietal sulcus (IPS0) and then later in early visual cortex (V1), suggesting a propagation of mnemonic information originated in higher-level visual area. Interareal correlation analyses revealed that during memory maintenance, information flowed predominantly in a top-down manner-from higher to lower visual areas, whereas during passive viewing, feedforward dynamics prevailed. Together, our findings demonstrate that working memory maintenance involves temporally structured drift dynamics and feedback-dominated information flow across the cortical hierarchy, providing a mechanistic link between neural population dynamics and the formation of memory errors.