Neuronal firing rates account for distractor effects on mnemonic accuracy in a visuo-spatial working memory task |
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Authors: | Julian Macoveanu Torkel Klingberg Jesper Tegnér |
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Institution: | 1.Computational Biology, Department of Physics,Link?ping University of Technology,Link?ping,Sweden;2.Department of Woman and Child Health, MR center,Karolinska Institutet,Stockholm,Sweden;3.Computational Medicine Group, Department of Medicine,Karolinska Institutet,Stockholm,Sweden;4.Division for Computational Biology, Department of Physics, IFM,Link?ping University of Technology,Link?ping,Sweden |
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Abstract: | Persistent neural activity constitutes one neuronal correlate of working memory, the ability to hold and manipulate information
across time, a prerequisite for cognition. Yet, the underlying neuronal mechanisms are still elusive. Here, we design a visuo-
spatial delayed-response task to identify the relationship between the cue-distractor spatial distance and mnemonic accuracy.
Using a shared experimental and computational test protocol, we probe human subjects in computer experiments, and subsequently
we evaluate different neural mechanisms underlying persistent activity using an in silico prefrontal network model. Five modes
of action of the network were tested: weak or strong synaptic interactions, wide synaptic arborization, cellular bistability
and reduced synaptic NMDA component. The five neural mechanisms and the human behavioral data, all exhibited a significant
deterioration of the mnemonic accuracy with decreased spatial distance between the distractor and the cue. A subsequent computational
analysis revealed that the firing rate and not the neural mechanism per se, accounted for the positive correlation between
mnemonic accuracy and spatial distance. Moreover, the computational modeling predicts an inverse correlation between accuracy
and distractibility. In conclusion, any pharmacological modulation, pathological condition or memory training paradigm targeting
the underlying neural circuitry and altering the net population firing rate during the delay is predicted to determine the
amount of influence of a visual distraction. |
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