Neuronal basis of feature bindings in visual working memory

许多认知任务需要快速灵活地将不同的感觉特征绑定到物体上，并在工作记忆中保持短时间的绑定。之前关于工作记忆的神经元基础的研究已经确定了暂时存储孤立特征的大脑区域。相比之下，人们对大脑哪些区域负责存储不同特征之间的绑定知之甚少。这项拟议的项目旨在回答三个关键问题：1)工作记忆中哪些大脑区域存储功能之间的特定绑定？2)这些区域也存储个别功能吗？3)哪些大脑区域显示出抵抗分心刺激的绑定特定记忆编码？为了回答这些问题，工作记忆研究的既定范式将进行重大修改。一小部分特征应该反复记忆，但我们会改变它们结合在一起的方式。重要的是，参与者将始终记住每次试验的两个功能绑定。在这样做的过程中，可以比较不同试验之间的活动模式，在这些试验中，相同的特征被记住，但绑定方式不同。此外，我们还将能够解码单个特征，并测试编码单个特征的相同大脑区域是否也编码它们之间的绑定。在第二项研究中，一个视觉分心物将出现在延迟阶段。这使得能够根据它们对分心的抵抗力来区分结合特异性区域。我们希望该项目能回答工作记忆研究中的核心问题之一，即特征之间绑定的临时存储的神经元基础。

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.