Representational states in multi-item working memory

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In everyday life, humans need to keep information in mind over short periods of time and use this information flexibly to make decisions and guide behaviour. This ability is known as 'working memory'. Notall information we keep in working memory is equal; some information may be more relevant than the rest. For example, when leaving your house, you may prioritize remembering your keys over rememberingwhat items you need to buy at the grocery store later. There is evidence that we can flexibly allocate attention to items in memory thereby giving the attended items a stronger influence over behaviour.Novel machine learning algorithms that can decode features (e.g. location or orientation) of memorised objects from patterns of brain activity have shown that attended objects in memory are also betterdecoded than unattended objects. In the proposed DPhil project, I will use a range of methods including human behaviour (accuracy and reaction time), human neuroimaging, and monkey electrophysiology toexplore how multiple items in working memory are represented in the brain. The results may help inform theories of how brain systems achieve complex thought and behavior.BBSRC priority areasSystems approaches to the biosciencesBrain science and mental healthWUB, ENWW