Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Yang Yang, Sang-Min Lee, Fumiaki Imamura, Krishne Gowda, Shantu Amin, Richard B. Mailman
Summary: This study compared two different D-1 agonists and found that 2-methyldihydrexidine was more effective in enhancing cognition compared to CY208,243, based on its impact on neural activity and cognitive performance.
MOLECULAR PSYCHIATRY
(2021)
Article
Geriatrics & Gerontology
Tara L. Moore, Damon A. Young, Ronald J. Killiany, Kari R. Fonseca, Dmitri Volfson, David L. Gray, Rita Balice-Gordon, Rouba Kozak
Summary: Age-related declines in cognition, especially in working memory and executive function, are mediated by the prefrontal cortex and the dopamine system within it. Administering the DA D1 R agonist PF-6294 to aged female rhesus monkeys improved memory span on the Delayed Recognition Span Task, particularly on repeated trials.
FRONTIERS IN AGING NEUROSCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Hidekazu Sotoyama, Hiroyoshi Inaba, Yuriko Iwakura, Hisaaki Namba, Nobuyuki Takei, Toshikuni Sasaoka, Hiroyuki Nawa
Summary: Dopamine in the prefrontal cortex has opposing effects on social behavior depending on the duration of its activation. Sustained dopamine activation suppresses social behavior while acute activation enhances it. The duration of social interactions is positively correlated with transient dopamine release and negatively correlated with sustained dopamine increase in the prefrontal cortex. Dopamine levels also modulate neural calcium signaling and c-Fos induction triggered by social stimuli in prefrontal neurons.
Article
Pharmacology & Pharmacy
Nestor I. Martinez-Torres, Nallely Vazquez-Hernandez, Fabiola L. Martin-Amaya-Barajas, Mario Flores-Soto, Ignacio Gonzalez-Burgos
Summary: The study found that lesions induced by Ibotenic acid (IA) affect social behavior and working memory in rats, leading to decreased dendritic spine density and reduced protein content. Plastic changes in the proportion of dendritic spine types suggest the activation of compensatory processes in response to the adverse effects of the lesion.
EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF PHARMACOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Neurosciences
Aspen H. Yoo, Anne G. E. Collins
Summary: Reinforcement learning and working memory, though traditionally considered distinct processes in cognition, neuroscience, and algorithms, actually have overlapping brain networks and are not as separate as previously thought. Studies have shown the benefits of considering each process to explain properties of the other, with recent work highlighting their more complex interactions. The review underscores the importance of not neglecting the interplay between different processes when studying human behavior, emphasizing the need to investigate these dynamics for a comprehensive understanding of human cognition.
JOURNAL OF COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Neurosciences
Aspen H. Yoo, Anne G. E. Collins
Summary: Reinforcement learning and working memory, two core processes of human cognition, are not as distinct as previously assumed, as their brain networks significantly overlap. Considering each process can explain properties of the other, and recent work has investigated their complex interactions.
JOURNAL OF COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Mikael Lundqvist, Scott L. Brincat, Jonas Rose, Melissa R. Warden, Timothy J. Buschman, Earl K. Miller, Pawel Herman
Summary: Working memory is achieved through interactions between beta and gamma oscillations, which allow the spatial flow of item-specific activity across the network. This spatial flow is independent of the detailed recurrent connectivity supporting the item-specific activity, and control-related information is stored in the spatial activity. Analysis of local field potentials and neuronal spiking confirms these predictions. Spatial computing can facilitate generalization and zero-shot learning by utilizing spatial component as an additional information encoding dimension.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2023)
Article
Neurosciences
Alexis Dubreuil, Adrian Valente, Manuel Beiran, Francesca Mastrogiuseppe, Srdjan Ostojic
Summary: Neural computations are currently investigated using two separate approaches: sorting neurons into functional subpopulations or examining the low-dimensional dynamics of collective activity. This study shows that the dimensionality of the dynamics and subpopulation structure play fundamentally complementary roles in shaping computations.
NATURE NEUROSCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Neurosciences
Lining Yin, Fang Han, Qingyun Wang
Summary: This study establishes a biophysical model to explain the mechanism of how high dopamine concentrations induce persistent neuronal activities and working memory defects, leading to obsession and compulsion. The theory highlights the importance of early intervention and behavioral therapies for obsessive-compulsive disorder, offering new approaches to dopaminergic pharmacotherapy and psychotherapy.
COGNITIVE NEURODYNAMICS
(2023)
Article
Neurosciences
Sihai Li, Christos Constantinidis, Xue-Lian Qi
Summary: The study investigated the roles of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and posterior parietal cortex in working memory, finding that neuronal activity can predict categorical judgments of information and deviations in firing rates reflect the contents of working memory.
Article
Neurosciences
Youngsun T. Cho, Flora Moujaes, Charles H. Schleifer, Martina Starc, Jie Lisa Ji, Nicole Santamauro, Brendan Adkinson, Antonija Kolobaric, Morgan Flynn, John H. Krystal, John D. Murray, Grega Repovs, Alan Anticevic
Summary: This study investigated how reward and loss impact spatial working memory precision and neural circuits in human subjects. The results showed that both reward and loss improved spatial working memory precision, with specific regions like precentral sulcus and intraparietal sulcus having increased BOLD signal related to better working memory precision. Conversely, areas straddling executive networks displayed decreased BOLD signal during incentivized working memory.
Article
Neurosciences
Craig W. Berridge, David M. Devilbiss, Andrea J. Martin, Robert C. Spencer, Rick L. Jenison
Summary: Goal-directed behavior relies on neuronal activity in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and extended frontostriatal circuitry. Stress impairs frontostriatal-dependent cognition, but the underlying neural mechanisms are not well understood. This study investigated the effects of acute noise-stress on neural activity and connectivity within cognition-related frontostriatal circuitry in rats. The results showed that stress suppressed neuronal responses and disrupted neural coding and functional connectivity during a spatial working memory task, providing insights into the cognitive impairing effects of stress.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Dheeraj S. Roy, Ying Zhang, Tomomi Aida, Chenjie Shen, Keith M. Skaggs, Yuanyuan Hou, Morgan Fleishman, Olivia Mosto, Alyssa Weninger, Guoping Feng
Summary: A specific region of the anterior thalamic nuclei plays a key role in spatial working memory tasks in aged mice, and targeting this region may be more beneficial for cognitive functions with fewer unintended effects compared to direct manipulation of the prefrontal cortex. Activation of neurons or circuits in this region can improve working memory, while direct activation of prefrontal cortex neurons may lead to increased anxiety levels in aged mice.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2022)
Article
Neurosciences
Megan Roussy, Benjamin Corrigan, Rogelio Luna, Roberto A. Gulli, Adam J. Sachs, Lena Palaniyappan, Julio C. Martinez-Trujilio
Summary: The study found that LPFC neurons maintain robust and distinct neural codes for mnemonic and perceptual visuospatial representations during naturalistic vision, with animals using different behavioral strategies for working memory and perception tasks.
JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Neurosciences
Scott L. Brincat, Jacob A. Donoghue, Meredith K. Mahnke, Simon Kornblith, Mikael Lundqvist, Earl K. Miller
Summary: Research shows that visual working memory storage is largely independent between the left and right cerebral hemispheres, but memory integration involves transfer and convergence across hemispheres. During memory transfer, synchronization between the two hemispheres peaks at specific frequencies, facilitating the transfer of memory traces.