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Journal Article•DOI•

A Meta-analysis of Executive Components of Working Memory

Derek Evan Nee1, Joshua W. Brown1, Mary K. Askren2, Mary K. Askren3, Marc G. Berman, Emre Demiralp3, Adam Krawitz4, John Jonides3 •
Indiana University1, University of Washington2, University of Michigan3, University of Victoria4
01 Feb 2013-Cerebral Cortex (Oxford University Press)-Vol. 23, Iss: 2, pp 264-282
TL;DR: It is proposed that dorsal-"where"/ventral-"what" frameworks that have been applied to WM maintenance also apply to executive processes of WM and WM can largely be simplified to a dual selection model.
Abstract: Working memory (WM) enables the online maintenance and manipulation of information and is central to intelligent cognitive functioning. Much research has investigated executive processes of WM in order to understand the operations that make WM “work.” However, there is yet little consensus regarding how executive processes of WM are organized. Here, we used quantitative meta-analysis to summarize data from 36 experiments that examined executive processes of WM. Experiments were categorized into 4 component functions central to WM: protecting WM from external distraction (distractor resistance), preventing irrelevant memories from intruding into WM (intrusion resistance), shifting attention within WM (shifting), and updating the contents of WM (updating). Data were also sorted by content (verbal, spatial, object). Meta-analytic results suggested that rather than dissociating into distinct functions, 2 separate frontal regions were recruited across diverse executive demands. One region was located dorsally in the caudal superior frontal sulcus and was especially sensitive to spatial content. The other was located laterally in the midlateral prefrontal cortex and showed sensitivity to nonspatial content. We propose that dorsal-“where”/ventral-“what” frameworks that have been applied to WM maintenance also apply to executive processes of WM. Hence, WM can largely be simplified to a dual selection model.

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Citations
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Journal Article•DOI•
Unity and diversity of executive functions: Individual differences as a window on cognitive structure.

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Naomi P. Friedman1, Akira Miyake1•
University of Colorado Boulder1
01 Jan 2017-Cortex
TL;DR: It is highlighted how considering individual differences at the behavioral and neural levels can add considerable insight to the investigation of the functional organization of the brain, and some key points about individual differences to consider when interpreting neuropsychological patterns of dissociation are highlighted.

912 citations

Cites background from "A Meta-analysis of Executive Compon..."

  • ...…by type of information, and a medial/lateral distinction related to emotional and motivational content (Badre & D'Esposito, 2009; Christoff & Gabrieli, 2000; Courtney, 2004; Fuster, 2001; Koechlin & Summerfield, 2007; Nee et al., 2013; O'Reilly, 2010; Petrides, 2005; Smith & Jonides, 1999)....

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  • ...…the conclusion that this multiple-demand system is generally active across different tasks, including tasks thought to tap inhibiting, updating, or shifting abilities (Collette et al., 2005; Derrfuss, Brass, & Yves von Cramon, 2004; Nee et al., 2013; Niendam et al., 2012; Sylvester et al., 2003)....

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Journal Article•DOI•
Neurocognitive Architecture of Working Memory

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Johan G. Eriksson1, Edward K. Vogel2, Anders Lansner3, Fredrik Bergström1, Lars Nyberg1 •
Umeå University1, University of Chicago2, Royal Institute of Technology3
07 Oct 2015-Neuron
TL;DR: A crucial role for working memory in temporary information processing and guidance of complex behavior has been recognized for many decades, and recent data and models indicate that working memory may also be based on synaptic plasticity and thatWorking memory can operate on non-consciously perceived information.

480 citations

Cites background from "A Meta-analysis of Executive Compon..."

  • ...This limitation highlights a sharp contrast between working memory and LTM, which is thought to have a nearly boundless capacity for storing new information from the environment....

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  • ...Even when grouping cues and high-precision demands are minimized, there is still debate about the nature of the maximum limit....

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Journal Article•DOI•
The neuroscience of working memory capacity and training

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Christos Constantinidis1, Torkel Klingberg2•
Wake Forest University1, Karolinska Institutet2
01 Jul 2016-Nature Reviews Neuroscience
TL;DR: Human imaging studies and neurophysiological recordings in non-human primates, together with computational modelling studies, reveal that training increases the activity of prefrontal neurons and the strength of connectivity in the prefrontal cortex and between the prefrontal and parietal cortex.
Abstract: Working memory - the ability to maintain and manipulate information over a period of seconds - is a core component of higher cognitive functions. The storage capacity of working memory is limited but can be expanded by training, and evidence of the neural mechanisms underlying this effect is accumulating. Human imaging studies and neurophysiological recordings in non-human primates, together with computational modelling studies, reveal that training increases the activity of prefrontal neurons and the strength of connectivity in the prefrontal cortex and between the prefrontal and parietal cortex. Dopaminergic transmission could have a facilitatory role. These changes more generally inform us of the plasticity of higher cognitive functions.

352 citations

Journal Article•DOI•
Prioritizing Information during Working Memory: Beyond Sustained Internal Attention.

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Nicholas E. Myers1, Mark G. Stokes1, Anna C. Nobre1•
University of Oxford1
01 Jun 2017-Trends in Cognitive Sciences
TL;DR: An updated model of working memory is suggested, in which prioritization acts in multiple steps: first orienting towards and selecting a memory, and then reconfiguring its representational state in the service of upcoming task demands.

262 citations

Cites background from "A Meta-analysis of Executive Compon..."

  • ...In the pre-SMA and ACC, either activation is stronger than during external attention shifts, or additional subregions are recruited [52]....

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Journal Article•DOI•
Large-scale functional neural network correlates of response inhibition: an fMRI meta-analysis

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Ruibin Zhang1, Xiujuan Geng1, Tatia M.C. Lee•
University of Hong Kong1
27 May 2017-Brain Structure & Function
TL;DR: This results suggest that response inhibition is a multidimensional cognitive process involving multiple neural regions and networks for coordinating optimal performance, and has significant implications for the understanding and assessment of response inhibition.
Abstract: An influential hypothesis from the last decade proposed that regions within the right inferior frontal cortex of the human brain were dedicated to supporting response inhibition There is growing evidence, however, to support an alternative model, which proposes that neural areas associated with specific inhibitory control tasks co-exist as common network mechanisms, supporting diverse cognitive processes This meta-analysis of 225 studies comprising 323 experiments examined the common and distinct neural correlates of cognitive processes for response inhibition, namely interference resolution, action withholding, and action cancellation Activation coordinates for each subcategory were extracted using multilevel kernel density analysis (MKDA) The extracted activity patterns were then mapped onto the brain functional network atlas to derive the common (ie, process-general) and distinct (ie, domain-oriented) neural network correlates of these processes Independent of the task types, activation of the right hemispheric regions (inferior frontal gyrus, insula, median cingulate, and paracingulate gyri) and superior parietal gyrus was common across the cognitive processes studied Mapping the activation patterns to a brain functional network atlas revealed that the fronto-parietal and ventral attention networks were the core neural systems that were commonly engaged in different processes of response inhibition Subtraction analyses elucidated the distinct neural substrates of interference resolution, action withholding, and action cancellation, revealing stronger activation in the ventral attention network for interference resolution than action inhibition On the other hand, action withholding/cancellation primarily engaged the fronto-striatal circuit Overall, our results suggest that response inhibition is a multidimensional cognitive process involving multiple neural regions and networks for coordinating optimal performance This finding has significant implications for the understanding and assessment of response inhibition

222 citations

Cites background from "A Meta-analysis of Executive Compon..."

  • ...Nee et al. (2013) reported that there was widespread bilateral fronto-parietal network activation during various types of working memory tasks....

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References
More filters
Journal Article•DOI•
Automated Anatomical Labeling of Activations in SPM Using a Macroscopic Anatomical Parcellation of the MNI MRI Single-Subject Brain

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Nathalie Tzourio-Mazoyer1, B. Landeau1, D. Papathanassiou1, Fabrice Crivello1, Octave Etard1, Nicolas Delcroix1, Bernard Mazoyer2, Marc Joliot1 •
University of Paris1, Institut Universitaire de France2
01 Jan 2002-NeuroImage
TL;DR: An anatomical parcellation of the spatially normalized single-subject high-resolution T1 volume provided by the Montreal Neurological Institute was performed and it is believed that this tool is an improvement for the macroscopical labeling of activated area compared to labeling assessed using the Talairach atlas brain.

13,678 citations

"A Meta-analysis of Executive Compon..." refers methods in this paper

  • ...Colors denote gyral definitions derived from the AAL atlas (Tzourio-Mazoyer et al. 2002)....

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  • ...Regions are colored and denoted by gyral labels provided by the AAL atlas (Tzourio-Mazoyer et al. 2002)....

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  • ...Anatomical ROIs were created using the AAL atlas (Tzourio-Mazoyer et al. 2002) implemented in WFU pick atlas (Maldjian et al....

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  • ...Renderings of regions related to executive processes of WM. Colors denote gyral definitions derived from the AAL atlas (Tzourio-Mazoyer et al. 2002)....

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  • ...Anatomical ROIs were created using the AAL atlas (Tzourio-Mazoyer et al. 2002) implemented in WFU pick atlas (Maldjian et al. 2003) focusing on frontal and parietal regions due to their presumed importance in executive processes....

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Journal Article•DOI•
The unity and diversity of executive functions and their contributions to complex "Frontal Lobe" tasks: a latent variable analysis.

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Akira Miyake1, Naomi P. Friedman1, Michael J. Emerson1, Alexander H. Witzki1, Amy Howerter1, Tor D. Wager2 •
University of Colorado Boulder1, University of Michigan2
01 Aug 2000-Cognitive Psychology
TL;DR: The results suggest that it is important to recognize both the unity and diversity ofExecutive functions and that latent variable analysis is a useful approach to studying the organization and roles of executive functions.

12,182 citations

"A Meta-analysis of Executive Compon..." refers background in this paper

  • ...Functional dissociations were not as clear as taxonomies of executive function might suggest (Smith and Jonides 1999; Miyake et al. 2000; Friedman and Miyake 2004), although some differences did arise....

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  • ...Over the years, a variety of frameworks have been proposed to try to parcel executive processes in a sensible fashion (e.g., Smith and Jonides 1999; Miyake et al. 2000; Friedman and Miyake 2004; Nee et al. 2007a; Bledowski et al. 2010)....

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  • ...Miyake et al. (2000) performed latent variable analysis on a variety of behavioral executive tasks to determine whether distinct factors could be dissociated....

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  • ...Of note, however, is that the tasks studied by Miyake et al. (2000) differed in content....

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  • ...Accordingly, a great deal of research has looked for ways to describe and organize executive processes (Smith and Jonides 1999; Miyake et al. 2000; Friedman andMiyake2004; Bledowski et al. 2010)....

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Journal Article•DOI•
Control of goal-directed and stimulus-driven attention in the brain

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Maurizio Corbetta1, Gordon L. Shulman1•
Washington University in St. Louis1
01 Mar 2002-Nature Reviews Neuroscience
TL;DR: Evidence for partially segregated networks of brain areas that carry out different attentional functions is reviewed, finding that one system is involved in preparing and applying goal-directed selection for stimuli and responses, and the other is specialized for the detection of behaviourally relevant stimuli.
Abstract: We review evidence for partially segregated networks of brain areas that carry out different attentional functions. One system, which includes parts of the intraparietal cortex and superior frontal cortex, is involved in preparing and applying goal-directed (top-down) selection for stimuli and responses. This system is also modulated by the detection of stimuli. The other system, which includes the temporoparietal cortex and inferior frontal cortex, and is largely lateralized to the right hemisphere, is not involved in top-down selection. Instead, this system is specialized for the detection of behaviourally relevant stimuli, particularly when they are salient or unexpected. This ventral frontoparietal network works as a 'circuit breaker' for the dorsal system, directing attention to salient events. Both attentional systems interact during normal vision, and both are disrupted in unilateral spatial neglect.

10,985 citations

"A Meta-analysis of Executive Compon..." refers background in this paper

  • ...The TPJ has been shown to be involved in attentional orienting, especially when salient external cues exogenously drive attention (Corbetta and Shulman 2002)....

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  • ...The caudal SFS often coactivates with the SPL during spatial attention (Kastner and Ungerleider 2000; Corbetta and Shulman 2002; Yantis and Serences 2003; Reynolds and Chelazzi 2004)....

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Journal Article•DOI•
An integrative theory of prefrontal cortex function

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Earl K. Miller1, Jonathan D. Cohen2•
Massachusetts Institute of Technology1, Princeton University2
01 Jan 2001-Annual Review of Neuroscience
TL;DR: It is proposed that cognitive control stems from the active maintenance of patterns of activity in the prefrontal cortex that represent goals and the means to achieve them, which provide bias signals to other brain structures whose net effect is to guide the flow of activity along neural pathways that establish the proper mappings between inputs, internal states, and outputs needed to perform a given task.
Abstract: ▪ Abstract The prefrontal cortex has long been suspected to play an important role in cognitive control, in the ability to orchestrate thought and action in accordance with internal goals. Its neural basis, however, has remained a mystery. Here, we propose that cognitive control stems from the active maintenance of patterns of activity in the prefrontal cortex that represent goals and the means to achieve them. They provide bias signals to other brain structures whose net effect is to guide the flow of activity along neural pathways that establish the proper mappings between inputs, internal states, and outputs needed to perform a given task. We review neurophysiological, neurobiological, neuroimaging, and computational studies that support this theory and discuss its implications as well as further issues to be addressed

10,943 citations

Book Chapter•DOI•
Chapter 11 Working memory

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Mark D'Esposito1•
Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute1
01 Jan 2008-Handbook of Clinical Neurology
TL;DR: This chapter demonstrates the functional importance of dopamine to working memory function in several ways and demonstrates that a network of brain regions, including the prefrontal cortex, is critical for the active maintenance of internal representations.
Abstract: Publisher Summary This chapter focuses on the modern notion of short-term memory, called working memory. Working memory refers to the temporary maintenance of information that was just experienced or just retrieved from long-term memory but no longer exists in the external environment. These internal representations are short-lived, but can be maintained for longer periods of time through active rehearsal strategies, and can be subjected to various operations that manipulate the information in such a way that makes it useful for goal-directed behavior. Working memory is a system that is critically important in cognition and seems necessary in the course of performing many other cognitive functions, such as reasoning, language comprehension, planning, and spatial processing. This chapter demonstrates the functional importance of dopamine to working memory function in several ways. Elucidation of the cognitive and neural mechanisms underlying human working memory is an important focus of cognitive neuroscience and neurology for much of the past decade. One conclusion that arises from research is that working memory, a faculty that enables temporary storage and manipulation of information in the service of behavioral goals, can be viewed as neither a unitary, nor a dedicated system. Data from numerous neuropsychological and neurophysiological studies in animals and humans demonstrates that a network of brain regions, including the prefrontal cortex, is critical for the active maintenance of internal representations.

10,081 citations

Related Papers (5)
Control of goal-directed and stimulus-driven attention in the brain

[...]

01 Mar 2002-Nature Reviews Neuroscience
Maurizio Corbetta, Gordon L. Shulman
Working memory: looking back and looking forward

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01 Oct 2003-Nature Reviews Neuroscience
Alan D. Baddeley
The unity and diversity of executive functions and their contributions to complex "Frontal Lobe" tasks: a latent variable analysis.

[...]

01 Aug 2000-Cognitive Psychology
Akira Miyake, Naomi P. Friedman, Michael J. Emerson, Alexander H. Witzki, Amy Howerter, Tor D. Wager 
An integrative theory of prefrontal cortex function

[...]

01 Jan 2001-Annual Review of Neuroscience
Earl K. Miller, Jonathan D. Cohen
The episodic buffer: a new component of working memory?

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01 Nov 2000-Trends in Cognitive Sciences
Alan D. Baddeley