日常经验通常涉及多个序列的处理,然而,存储它们挑战有限的工作记忆(WM)容量。为了实现高效的内存存储,序列共享的关系结构将被用来重组和压缩信息。这里,参与者记住了一系列具有不同颜色和空间位置的项目,然后一个接一个地复制了完整的颜色和位置序列。至关重要的是,我们操纵位置和颜色序列轨迹之间的一致性。首先,具有一致轨迹的序列显示出改善的记忆性能以及再现的颜色和位置序列之间的轨迹相关性。第二,具有一致轨迹的序列显示共同轨迹的神经再激活,并在回忆位置时显示颜色序列的自发重放。最后,神经再激活与WM行为相关。我们的发现表明,通过压缩编码和神经重放,利用共享的公共结构来存储多个序列。共同促进WM中有效的信息组织。
当我们在进入商店之前记住购物清单时,我们利用我们的工作记忆。这种神经过程允许我们暂时存储任务所需的知识,然而,它的能力是有限的。必须同时召回多种类型的信息,特别是,可以迅速创造挑战。究竟大脑如何最大限度地利用这种有限的工作记忆空间仍不清楚。一种可能的策略是利用看似无关的信息之间存在的模式或连接-例如,记得买苹果,橙子和香蕉属于更广泛的“水果”类别。为了探索是否可能是这种情况,黄巧立和罗欢设计了一个记忆任务,其中两种类型的信息要么通过底层模式(对齐轨迹条件)连接,要么完全独立(对齐轨迹条件)。参与者看着三个彩色点一个接一个地出现在屏幕上,以这种方式,他们似乎围绕着一个想象的圆圈“旅行”。然后要求志愿者回忆,按顺序,每个点的位置和颜色。当颜色和位置信息以相同的方式构建时,性能会提高-也就是说,当两者都从三个圆点中出现时,它们绕着具有相同轨迹的圆圈或色轮行进。记录参与者在执行任务时“实时”的大脑活动表明,在对齐的轨迹条件下,大脑“压缩”两种类型的信息并提取它们的共同结构。即使参与者被要求只回忆点的位置,他们的大脑也自发地回放了相关的颜色信息。一起来看,这些发现为工作记忆如何帮助多任务处理提供了新的见解,我们日常生活的一个重要方面,并为进一步探索这种能力奠定基础。
Daily experiences often involve the processing of multiple sequences, yet storing them challenges the limited capacity of working memory (WM). To achieve efficient memory storage, relational structures shared by sequences would be leveraged to reorganize and compress information. Here, participants memorized a sequence of items with different colors and spatial locations and later reproduced the full color and location sequences one after another. Crucially, we manipulated the consistency between location and color sequence trajectories. First, sequences with consistent trajectories demonstrate improved memory performance and a trajectory correlation between reproduced color and location sequences. Second, sequences with consistent trajectories show neural reactivation of common trajectories, and display spontaneous replay of color sequences when recalling locations. Finally, neural reactivation correlates with WM behavior. Our findings suggest that a shared common structure is leveraged for the storage of multiple sequences through compressed encoding and neural replay, together facilitating efficient information organization in WM.
When we memorize a grocery list before heading into the store, we make use of our working memory. This type of neural process allows us to temporarily store the knowledge needed for a task, yet its capacity is limited. Having to recall more than one type of information at the same time, in particular, can quickly create challenges. Exactly how the brain maximizes the use of this limited working memory space remains unclear. One possible strategy would be to take advantage of the patterns or connections that exist between seemingly unrelated pieces of information – for example, by remembering to buy apples, oranges and bananas under one broader ‘fruit’ category. To explore if this may be the case, Qiaoli Huang and Huan Luo designed a memory task in which two types of information were either connected through an underlying pattern (aligned trajectory condition) or completely independent (misaligned trajectory condition). Participants watched three colored dots appearing on screen one after the other, in such a way that they seemed to ‘travel’ around an imaginary circle. The volunteers were then asked to recall, in order, the location and color of each dot. Performance increased when color and location information were structured in the same way – that is, when both emerged from the three dots traveling around a circle or a color wheel with the same trajectory. Recording the brain activity of the participants ‘live’ as they performed the task indicates that, in the aligned trajectory condition, the brain ‘compresses’ both types of information and extracts their common structure. Even when participants were asked to recall only the location of the dots, their brain also spontaneously replayed the related color information. Taken together, these findings provide new insights into how working memory aids in multitasking, a crucial aspect of our daily lives, and lay the groundwork for further exploration of this capability.