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We discovered that items at each ordinal rank in WM were encoded in separate rank-WM subspaces and then, depending on cues, were maintained or reordered between the subspaces, accompanied by two extra temporary subspaces in two operation steps. Furthermore, the cue activity served as an indexical signal to trigger sorting processes. Thus, we propose a complete conceptual framework, where the neural landscape transitions in frontal neural states underlie the symbolic system for mental programming of sequence WM.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1126\/science.adp6091","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,9,26]],"date-time":"2024-09-26T14:00:52Z","timestamp":1727359252000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.34133\/aaas_crossmark","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":53,"title":["Mental programming of spatial sequences in working memory in the macaque frontal cortex"],"prefix":"10.1126","volume":"385","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0008-4154-6313","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Zhenghe","family":"Tian","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Neuroscience, Key Laboratory of Brain Cognition and Brain-Inspired Intelligence Technology, CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200031, China."},{"name":"Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China."},{"name":"School of Artificial Intelligence, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China."}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jingwen","family":"Chen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Neuroscience, Key Laboratory of Brain Cognition and Brain-Inspired Intelligence Technology, CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200031, China."}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0007-1404-0782","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Cong","family":"Zhang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Neuroscience, Key Laboratory of Brain Cognition and Brain-Inspired Intelligence Technology, CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200031, China."}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1006-9629","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Bin","family":"Min","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Lingang Laboratory, Shanghai 200031, China."}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1111-1529","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Bo","family":"Xu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China."},{"name":"School of Artificial Intelligence, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China."}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2038-0234","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Liping","family":"Wang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Neuroscience, Key Laboratory of Brain Cognition and Brain-Inspired Intelligence Technology, CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200031, China."}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"221","reference":[{"key":"e_1_3_2_2_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1126\/science.173.3997.652"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_3_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1146\/annurev.neuro.24.1.167"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_4_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1038\/s41467-018-05961-4"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_5_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1093\/cercor\/10.9.910"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_6_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1017\/CBO9781139174909.014"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_7_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1038\/81460"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_8_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.cobeha.2014.08.001"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_9_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1038\/s41586-021-03390-w"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_10_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1038\/s41593-021-00821-9"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_11_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1126\/science.171.3972.701"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_12_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/0010-0285(89)90009-1"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_13_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.neuron.2018.09.023"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_14_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1152\/jn.1989.61.2.331"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_15_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1152\/jn.00694.2003"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_16_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1038\/s41467-023-40676-1"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_17_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1126\/science.abm0204"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_18_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1017\/S0140525X08003543"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_19_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.cub.2018.04.047"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_20_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.7551\/mitpress\/2867.001.0001"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_21_2","volume-title":"The Symbolic Species: The Co-evolution of Language and the Brain","author":"Deacon T. 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