Differential activity of prefrontal units during right and left delayed response trials

Abstract

Working memory refers to the temporary retention of information that has just arrived to the senses or been retrieved from long-term memory. While internal representations of external stimuli have a natural tendency to decay, they can be kept "in mind" through the action of maintenance or rehearsal strategies and can be subjected to various operations that manipulate information in the service of ongoing behavior. Empirical studies of working memory using the tools of neuroscience, such as electrophysiological recordings in monkeys and functional neuroimaging in humans, have advanced our knowledge of the underlying neural mechanisms of working memory.