Specialization & Integration in Human Working Memory

工作记忆是在短时间内积极保持信息表征的过程，以便它可供使用，是高级认知处理许多方面的基本组成部分。 工作记忆对于分析推理和词汇习得是必要的，并且似乎与智商高度相关。 数百万患有艾滋病、注意力缺陷多动障碍、帕金森病和精神分裂症等疾病的人都遭受着工作记忆中断的痛苦。 工作记忆显然是一种重要的认知功能，似乎容易受到各种疾病的干扰。前额叶皮层被认为是工作记忆功能的关键，但对工作记忆的具体神经机制知之甚少。作为一个长期目标的一部分，以提高我们对前额叶皮层在编码，维护和处理信息中的作用的理解，这个特定项目的目标是确定不同类型的信息是如何在人类前额叶皮层内组织的。 使用功能磁共振成像，将追求三个具体目标。 首先，这个项目将研究涉及维护不同类型的对象的信息，以及这些神经系统在多大程度上是不同于那些参与维护有关空间位置的信息的神经系统。第二，这个项目将检查在何种程度上的神经系统维护的对象和言语信息是不同的。 最后，该项目将研究参与整合和维护多种类型的信息在一个连贯的表示世界的神经机制。该项目将大大推进我们对前额叶皮层如何组织不同类型的信息以及前额叶皮层在工作记忆中的作用的理解。这将提高我们对前额叶功能被破坏的情况的理解，并推进创建有效的、有针对性的治疗策略来治疗或预防工作记忆功能丧失的目标。

Working memory, the process of actively maintaining a representation of information for a brief period of time so that it is available for use, is a fundamental component of many aspects of higher cognitive processing. Working memory is necessary for analytical reasoning and vocabulary acquisition and appears to be highly correlated with IQ. Millions of people with conditions including HIV infection, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, Parkinson's disease, and schizophrenia, suffer from disruptions of working memory. Working memory is clearly an important cognitive function that appears to be susceptible to disruption in a wide range of diseases. Prefrontal cortex is thought to be critical to working memory function, but little is known about the specific neural mechanism of working memory. As part of a long range goal to improve our understanding of the role of prefrontal cortex in encoding, maintaining, and manipulating information, the goal of this particular project is to ascertain how different types of information are organized within the human prefrontal cortex. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, three specific aims will be pursued. First, this project will examine the neural systems involved in maintaining information about different types of objects and the degree to which these neural systems are distinct from those involved in maintaining information about spatial locations. Second, this project will examine the degree to which the neural systems for maintenance of object and verbal information are distinct. Finally, the project will examine the neural mechanisms involved in integrating and maintaining multiple types of information in a coherent representation of the world. The proposed project will significantly advance our understanding of how the prefrontal cortex organizes different types of information and the role of prefrontal cortex in working memory. This will improve our understanding of those conditions in which prefrontal function is disrupted, and advance the goal of creating effective, targeted therapeutic strategies to treat or prevent the loss of working memory function.