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Working memory needs pointers
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AI
DOI：10.1016/j.tics.2024.12.006.png)
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Abstract
En 中文
Cognitive neuroscience has converged on a definition of working memory (WM) as a capacity-limited system that maintains highly accessible representations via stimulus-specific neural patterns. We argue that this standard definition may be incomplete. We highlight the fundamental need to recognize specific instances or tokens and to bind those tokens to the surrounding context. We propose that contextual binding is supported by spatiotemporal 'pointers' and that pointers are the source of neural signals that track the number of stored items, independent of their content. These content-independent pointers may provide a productive perspective for understanding item-based capacity limits in WM and the role of WM as a gateway for long-term storage.
Keywords:
SHORT-TERM-MEMORY
PREDICTS INDIVIDUAL-DIFFERENCES
FLUID INTELLIGENCE
CAPACITY LIMITS
DELAY ACTIVITY
ATTENTIONAL BLINK
PREFRONTAL CORTEX
NEURAL MECHANISMS
SPATIAL ATTENTION
REPRESENTATIONS