Neuronal basis of feature bindings in visual working memory

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Many cognitive tasks require to bind different sensory features into objects rapidly and flexibly and to maintain these bindings for a short period of time in working memory. Previous studies on the neuronal basis of working memory have identified brain regions that temporarily store isolated features. In contrast, little is known about which brain regions are responsible for storing the bindings between different features. The proposed project aims to answer three key questions: 1) Which brain regions store specific bindings between features in working memory? 2) Are these the same regions that also store individual features? 3) Which brain regions show a binding-specific memory coding that is resistant to distracting stimuli? To answer these questions, established paradigms of working memory research will be crucially modified. A small set of features shall be memorized repeatedly, but we will vary the way in which they are bound together. Importantly, participants will always memorize two feature bindings per trial. In doing so, activity patterns can be compared between trials in which the same features are memorized but bound differently. Moreover, we will also be able to decode individual features and test whether the same brain regions that code individual features also code the bindings between them. In a second study, a visual distractor will be presented in the delay phase. This enables to differentiate the binding-specific regions according to their resistance to distraction. We expect the project to answer one of the central questions in working memory research, namely the neuronal basis of the temporary storage of bindings between features.