Is Activity Silent Working Memory Simply Episodic Memory?
Trends Cogn Sci
; 25(4): 284-293, 2021 04.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-33551266
ABSTRACT
Working memory (WM) maintains task-relevant information in a state ready for processing. While traditional theories assume that sustained neuronal activity is responsible for WM, the Activity Silent WM (ASWM) account proposes that maintenance can also be supported by short-term synaptic weight changes. Here, we argue that the evidence for ASWM can be explained more parsimoniously by the involvement of episodic memory (EM) in WM tasks. Like ASWM, EM relies on rapid synaptic modification that is also activity silent; however, while ASWM posits transient synaptic modifications, EM traces persist over longer time periods. We discuss how, despite this difference, well-established EM mechanisms can account for the key findings attributed to ASWM, and describe predictions of this account.
Key words
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Memory, Episodic
/
Memory, Short-Term
Type of study:
Prognostic_studies
Limits:
Humans
Language:
En
Journal:
Trends Cogn Sci
Journal subject:
PSICOLOGIA
Year:
2021
Document type:
Article