Mechanism for top-down control of working memory capacity
Open accessAbstract
Working memory capacity, the maximum number of items that we can transiently store in working memory, is a good predictor of our general cognitive abilities. Neural activity in both dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and posterior parietal cortex has been associated with memory retention during visuospatial working memory tasks. The parietal cortex is thought to store the memories. However, the role of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, a top-down control area, during pure information retention is debated, and the mechanisms regulating capacity are unknown. Here, we propose that a major role of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in working memory is to boost parietal memory capacity. Furthermore, we formulate the boosting mechanism computationally in a biophysical cortical microcircuit model and derive a simple, explicit mathematical formula relating memory capacity to prefrontal and parietal model parameters. For physiologically realistic parameter values, lateral inhibition in the parietal cortex limits mnemonic capacity to a maximum of 2-7 items. However, at high loads inhibition can be counteracted by excitatory prefrontal input, thus boosting parietal capacity. Predictions from the model were confirmed in an fMRI study. Our results show that although memories are stored in the parietal cortex, interindividual differences in memory capacity are partly determined by the strength of prefrontal top-down control. The model provides a mechanistic framework for understanding top-down control of working memory and specifies two different contributions of prefrontal and parietal cortex to working memory capacity.
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Increased prefrontal activity could reflect top-down boosting of WM capacity in the parietal cortex.
“Increased prefrontal activity could reflect top-down boosting of WM capacity in the parietal cortex (71).”
From Influence of the COMT genotype on working memory and brain activity changes during development (2011) · cites this paper as [71]
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- Authors
- Edin, F., Klingberg, T., Johansson, P., McNab, F., Tegnér, J., & Compte, A.
- Affiliations
- Karolinska Institutet (SE)
- Karolinska Institutet, 171 76 Stockholm, Sweden;
- Venue
- Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
- Publisher
- National Academy of Sciences
- Published
- 2009-04-21
- Volume
- 106
- Issue
- 16
- Pages
- 6802-6807
- ISSN
- 0027-8424 (ISSN-L)
- 1091-6490
- PMC
- PMC2672558
- OpenAlex
- W2092348893
- Cited by
- 365
- References
- 46
- Citations by year
- 2026: 9 · 2025: 19 · 2024: 26 · 2023: 20 · 2022: 18 · 2021: 35 · 2020: 23 · 2019: 19 · 2018: 15 · 2017: 20 · 2016: 23 · 2015: 11 · 2014: 29 · 2013: 30 · 2012: 20
- FWCI
- 10.81
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Locations
- Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- UCL Discovery (University College London) (submittedVersion)
- University of Birmingham Research Portal (University of Birmingham) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural dynamics and brain function
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Cognitive Abilities and Testing
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies
- Keywords
- working memory capacity, top-down control, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, posterior parietal cortex, visuospatial working memory, memory retention, lateral inhibition, individual differences
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Brain Mapping, Female, Humans, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Male, Memory, Models, Neurological, Prefrontal Cortex
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