{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,12]],"date-time":"2026-02-12T13:38:53Z","timestamp":1770903533824,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":66,"publisher":"MIT Press - Journals","issue":"12","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2020,10,30]],"date-time":"2020-10-30T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1604016000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":1064,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["direct.mit.edu"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":[],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2017,12,1]]},"abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract<\/jats:title>\n               <jats:p>Recent imaging studies have challenged the prevailing view that working memory is mediated by sustained neural activity. Using machine learning methods to reconstruct memory content, these studies found that previously diminished representations can be restored by retrospective cueing or other forms of stimulation. These findings have been interpreted as evidence for an activity-silent working memory state that can be reactivated dependent on task demands. Here, we test the validity of this conclusion by formulating a neural process model of working memory based on sustained activity and using this model to emulate a spatial recall task with retro-cueing. The simulation reproduces both behavioral and fMRI results previously taken as evidence for latent states, in particular the restoration of spatial reconstruction quality following an informative cue. Our results demonstrate that recovery of the decodability of an imaging signal does not provide compelling evidence for an activity-silent working memory state.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1162\/jocn_a_01180","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2017,8,18]],"date-time":"2017-08-18T16:13:17Z","timestamp":1503072797000},"page":"1977-1994","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1162\/mitpressjournals.corrections.policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":54,"title":["Restoration of fMRI Decodability Does Not Imply Latent Working Memory States"],"prefix":"10.1162","volume":"29","author":[{"given":"Sebastian","family":"Schneegans","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"University of Cambridge"}]},{"given":"Paul M.","family":"Bays","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"University of Cambridge"}]}],"member":"281","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2017,12,1]]},"reference":[{"key":"2021073021141504000_R1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"77","DOI":"10.1007\/BF00337259","article-title":"Dynamics of pattern formation in lateral-inhibition type neural fields","volume":"27","author":"Amari","year":"1977","journal-title":"Biological Cybernetics"},{"key":"2021073021141504000_R2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"20","DOI":"10.1016\/j.conb.2013.10.008","article-title":"Working models of working memory","volume":"25","author":"Barak","year":"2014","journal-title":"Current Opinion in Neurobiology"},{"key":"2021073021141504000_R3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"3632","DOI":"10.1523\/JNEUROSCI.3204-13.2014","article-title":"Noise in neural populations accounts for errors in working memory","volume":"34","author":"Bays","year":"2014","journal-title":"Journal of Neuroscience"},{"key":"2021073021141504000_R4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"431","DOI":"10.1016\/j.tics.2015.06.004","article-title":"Spikes not slots: Noise in neural populations limits working memory","volume":"19","author":"Bays","year":"2015","journal-title":"Trends in Cognitive Sciences"},{"key":"2021073021141504000_R5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"7.1","DOI":"10.1167\/9.10.7","article-title":"The precision of visual working memory is set by allocation of a shared resource","volume":"9","author":"Bays","year":"2009","journal-title":"Journal of Vision"},{"key":"2021073021141504000_R6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"851","DOI":"10.1126\/science.1158023","article-title":"Dynamic shifts of limited working memory resources in human vision","volume":"321","author":"Bays","year":"2008","journal-title":"Science"},{"key":"2021073021141504000_R7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"17645","DOI":"10.1073\/pnas.1117386109","article-title":"Fundamental limits on persistent activity in networks of noisy neurons","volume":"109","author":"Burak","year":"2012","journal-title":"Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, U.S.A."},{"key":"2021073021141504000_R8","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"383","DOI":"10.1023\/A:1008837311948","article-title":"A model of visuospatial working memory in prefrontal cortex: Recurrent network and cellular bistability","volume":"5","author":"Camperi","year":"1998","journal-title":"Journal of Computational Neuroscience"},{"key":"2021073021141504000_R9","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"394","DOI":"10.1038\/nn.4237","article-title":"Computational principles of memory","volume":"19","author":"Chaudhuri","year":"2016","journal-title":"Nature Neuroscience"},{"key":"2021073021141504000_R10","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"520","DOI":"10.1016\/j.neuron.2011.10.026","article-title":"Memory: Enduring traces of perceptual and reflective attention","volume":"72","author":"Chun","year":"2011","journal-title":"Neuron"},{"key":"2021073021141504000_R11","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"910","DOI":"10.1093\/cercor\/10.9.910","article-title":"Synaptic mechanisms and network dynamics underlying spatial working memory in a cortical network model","volume":"10","author":"Compte","year":"2000","journal-title":"Cerebral Cortex"},{"key":"2021073021141504000_R12","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"608","DOI":"10.1038\/386608a0","article-title":"Transient and sustained activity in a distributed neural system for human working memory","volume":"386","author":"Courtney","year":"1997","journal-title":"Nature"},{"key":"2021073021141504000_R13","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"750","DOI":"10.1162\/jocn.2007.19.5.750","article-title":"Stronger synaptic connectivity as a mechanism behind development of working memory-related brain activity during childhood","volume":"19","author":"Edin","year":"2007","journal-title":"Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience"},{"key":"2021073021141504000_R14","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"6516","DOI":"10.1523\/JNEUROSCI.5732-12.2013","article-title":"Distributed patterns of activity in sensory cortex reflect the precision of multiple items maintained in visual short-term memory","volume":"33","author":"Emrich","year":"2013","journal-title":"Journal of Neuroscience"},{"key":"2021073021141504000_R15","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"6982","DOI":"10.1523\/JNEUROSCI.6150-10.2011","article-title":"Same or different? A neural circuit mechanism of similarity-based pattern match decision making","volume":"31","author":"Engel","year":"2011","journal-title":"Journal of Neuroscience"},{"key":"2021073021141504000_R16","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2530","DOI":"10.1162\/jocn.2009.21375","article-title":"A single brief burst induces glur1-dependent associative short-term potentiation: A potential mechanism for short-term memory","volume":"22","author":"Erickson","year":"2010","journal-title":"Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience"},{"key":"2021073021141504000_R17","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"33","DOI":"10.1016\/j.neuron.2015.09.020","article-title":"Neurocognitive architecture of working memory","volume":"88","author":"Eriksson","year":"2015","journal-title":"Neuron"},{"key":"2021073021141504000_R18","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"331","DOI":"10.1152\/jn.1989.61.2.331","article-title":"Mnemonic coding of visual space in the monkey's dorsolateral prefrontal cortex","volume":"61","author":"Funahashi","year":"1989","journal-title":"Journal of Neurophysiology"},{"key":"2021073021141504000_R19","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"652","DOI":"10.1126\/science.173.3997.652","article-title":"Neuron activity related to short-term memory","volume":"173","author":"Fuster","year":"1971","journal-title":"Science"},{"key":"2021073021141504000_R20","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"244","DOI":"10.3389\/fpsyg.2016.00244","article-title":"The (un)clear effects of invalid retro-cues","volume":"7","author":"Gressmann","year":"2016","journal-title":"Frontiers in Psychology"},{"key":"2021073021141504000_R21","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"632","DOI":"10.1038\/nature07832","article-title":"Decoding reveals the contents of visual working memory in early visual areas","volume":"458","author":"Harrison","year":"2009","journal-title":"Nature"},{"key":"2021073021141504000_R22","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1630","DOI":"10.3758\/s13414-013-0596-9","article-title":"Beyond slots and resources: Grounding cognitive concepts in neural dynamics","volume":"76","author":"Johnson","year":"2014","journal-title":"Attention, Perception, & Psychophysics"},{"key":"2021073021141504000_R23","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"227","DOI":"10.1016\/j.newideapsych.2007.07.007","article-title":"Moving to higher ground: The dynamic field theory and the dynamics of visual cognition","volume":"26","author":"Johnson","year":"2008","journal-title":"New Ideas in Psychology"},{"key":"2021073021141504000_R24","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"17","DOI":"10.1016\/j.brainres.2009.07.008","article-title":"A layered neural architecture for the consolidation, maintenance, and updating of representations in visual working memory","volume":"1299","author":"Johnson","year":"2009","journal-title":"Brain Research"},{"key":"2021073021141504000_R25","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"51","DOI":"10.1162\/jocn_a_00087","article-title":"Attention modulates maintenance of representations in visual short-term memory","volume":"24","author":"Kuo","year":"2012","journal-title":"Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience"},{"key":"2021073021141504000_R26","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"127","DOI":"10.1162\/jocn_a_00305","article-title":"Decoding attended information in short-term memory: An EEG study","volume":"25","author":"LaRocque","year":"2013","journal-title":"Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience"},{"key":"2021073021141504000_R27","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"61","DOI":"10.1162\/jocn_a_00140","article-title":"Neural evidence for a distinction between short-term memory and the focus of attention","volume":"24","author":"Lewis-Peacock","year":"2012","journal-title":"Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience"},{"key":"2021073021141504000_R28","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1518","DOI":"10.1016\/j.neuroimage.2003.07.021","article-title":"Cortical capacity constraints for visual working memory: Dissociation of fMRI load effects in a fronto-parietal network","volume":"20","author":"Linden","year":"2003","journal-title":"Neuroimage"},{"key":"2021073021141504000_R29","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"S187","DOI":"10.1016\/j.neuroimage.2008.10.065","article-title":"Modeling the hemodynamic response function in fMRI: Efficiency, bias and mis-modeling","volume":"45","author":"Lindquist","year":"2009","journal-title":"Neuroimage"},{"key":"2021073021141504000_R30","first-page":"1490","article-title":"A neurobehavioral model of flexible spatial language behaviors","volume":"38","author":"Lipinski","year":"2012","journal-title":"Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition"},{"key":"2021073021141504000_R31","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"150","DOI":"10.1038\/35084005","article-title":"Neurophysiological investigation of the basis of the fMRI signal","volume":"412","author":"Logothetis","year":"2001","journal-title":"Nature"},{"key":"2021073021141504000_R32","first-page":"369","article-title":"Orienting attention in visual working memory reduces interference from memory probes","volume":"34","author":"Makovski","year":"2008","journal-title":"Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition"},{"key":"2021073021141504000_R33","first-page":"1466","article-title":"Method matters: Systematic effects of testing procedure on visual working memory sensitivity","volume":"36","author":"Makovski","year":"2010","journal-title":"Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition"},{"key":"2021073021141504000_R34","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e1004003","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pcbi.1004003","article-title":"A probabilistic palimpsest model of visual short-term memory","volume":"11","author":"Matthey","year":"2015","journal-title":"PLoS Computational Biology"},{"key":"2021073021141504000_R35","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"323","DOI":"10.1016\/j.neuron.2016.12.004","article-title":"Synaptic correlates of working memory capacity","volume":"93","author":"Mi","year":"2017","journal-title":"Neuron"},{"key":"2021073021141504000_R36","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1543","DOI":"10.1126\/science.1150769","article-title":"Synaptic theory of working memory","volume":"319","author":"Mongillo","year":"2008","journal-title":"Science"},{"key":"2021073021141504000_R37","first-page":"1224","article-title":"Rapid forgetting prevented by retrospective attention cues","volume":"39","author":"Pertzov","year":"2013","journal-title":"Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance"},{"key":"2021073021141504000_R38","first-page":"1075","article-title":"Focused, unfocused, and defocused information in working memory","volume":"39","author":"Rerko","year":"2013","journal-title":"Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition"},{"key":"2021073021141504000_R39","first-page":"201","article-title":"A neural dynamic architecture resolves phrases about spatial relations in visual scenes","volume-title":"International Conference on Artificial Neural Networks","author":"Richter","year":"2014"},{"key":"2021073021141504000_R40","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"12990","DOI":"10.1523\/JNEUROSCI.1892-12.2012","article-title":"The relationship between working memory storage and elevated activity as measured with functional magnetic resonance imaging","volume":"32","author":"Riggall","year":"2012","journal-title":"Journal of Neuroscience"},{"key":"2021073021141504000_R41","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1136","DOI":"10.1126\/science.aah7011","article-title":"Reactivation of latent working memories with transcranial magnetic stimulation","volume":"354","author":"Rose","year":"2016","journal-title":"Science"},{"key":"2021073021141504000_R42","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"3913","DOI":"10.1523\/JNEUROSCI.3493-16.2017","article-title":"Neural architecture for feature binding in visual working memory","volume":"37","author":"Schneegans","year":"2017","journal-title":"Journal of Neuroscience"},{"key":"2021073021141504000_R43","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"241","DOI":"10.1016\/B978-0-08-046616-3.00013-X","article-title":"Dynamic field theory as a framework for understanding embodied cognition","volume-title":"Handbook of cognitive science: An embodied approach","author":"Schneegans","year":"2008"},{"key":"2021073021141504000_R44","first-page":"197","article-title":"Integrating \u201cwhat\u201d and \u201cwhere\u201d: Visual working memory for objects in a scene","volume-title":"Dynamic thinking: A primer on dynamic field theory","author":"Schneegans","year":"2016"},{"key":"2021073021141504000_R45","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1167\/14.11.9","article-title":"Dynamic interactions between visual working memory and saccade target selection","volume":"14","author":"Schneegans","year":"2014","journal-title":"Journal of Vision"},{"key":"2021073021141504000_R46","first-page":"1698","article-title":"Tests of the dynamic field theory and the spatial precision hypothesis: Capturing a qualitative developmental transition in spatial working memory","volume":"35","author":"Schutte","year":"2009","journal-title":"Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance"},{"key":"2021073021141504000_R47","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"207","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1467-9280.2009.02276.x","article-title":"Stimulus-specific delay activity in human primary visual cortex","volume":"20","author":"Serences","year":"2009","journal-title":"Psychological Science"},{"key":"2021073021141504000_R48","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1027","DOI":"10.3758\/BF03193363","article-title":"Reference-related inhibition produces enhanced position discrimination and fast repulsion near axes of symmetry","volume":"68","author":"Simmering","year":"2006","journal-title":"Attention, Perception, & Psychophysics"},{"key":"2021073021141504000_R49","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1839","DOI":"10.3758\/s13414-016-1108-5","article-title":"In search of the focus of attention in working memory: 13 Years of the retro-cue effect","volume":"78","author":"Souza","year":"2016","journal-title":"Attention, Perception, & Psychophysics"},{"key":"2021073021141504000_R50","first-page":"1237","article-title":"Unloading and reloading working memory: Attending to one item frees capacity","volume":"40","author":"Souza","year":"2014","journal-title":"Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance"},{"key":"2021073021141504000_R51","first-page":"890","article-title":"Getting more from visual working memory: Retro-cues enhance retrieval and protect from visual interference","volume":"42","author":"Souza","year":"2016","journal-title":"Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance"},{"key":"2021073021141504000_R52","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2174","DOI":"10.1016\/j.cub.2014.07.066","article-title":"Reconstructions of information in visual spatial working memory degrade with memory load","volume":"24","author":"Sprague","year":"2014","journal-title":"Current Biology"},{"key":"2021073021141504000_R53","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"694","DOI":"10.1016\/j.neuron.2016.07.006","article-title":"Restoring latent visual working memory representations in human cortex","volume":"91","author":"Sprague","year":"2016","journal-title":"Neuron"},{"key":"2021073021141504000_R54","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"394","DOI":"10.1016\/j.tics.2015.05.004","article-title":"\u201cActivity-silent\u201d working memory in prefrontal cortex: A dynamic coding framework","volume":"19","author":"Stokes","year":"2015","journal-title":"Trends in Cognitive Sciences"},{"key":"2021073021141504000_R55","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1199","DOI":"10.3758\/s13414-012-0305-0","article-title":"The mental wormhole: Internal attention shifts without regard for distance","volume":"74","author":"Tanoue","year":"2012","journal-title":"Attention, Perception, & Psychophysics"},{"key":"2021073021141504000_R56","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"248","DOI":"10.1016\/j.actpsy.2010.06.011","article-title":"Attention on our mind: The role of spatial attention in visual working memory","volume":"137","author":"Theeuwes","year":"2011","journal-title":"Acta Psychologica"},{"key":"2021073021141504000_R57","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"751","DOI":"10.1038\/nature02466","article-title":"Capacity limit of visual short-term memory in human posterior parietal cortex","volume":"428","author":"Todd","year":"2004","journal-title":"Nature"},{"key":"2021073021141504000_R58","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"171","DOI":"10.1016\/S0959-4388(96)80070-5","article-title":"The binding problem","volume":"6","author":"Treisman","year":"1996","journal-title":"Current Opinion in Neurobiology"},{"key":"2021073021141504000_R59","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"8780","DOI":"10.1073\/pnas.1117465109","article-title":"Variability in encoding precision accounts for visual short-term memory limitations","volume":"109","author":"van den Berg","year":"2012","journal-title":"Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, U.S.A."},{"key":"2021073021141504000_R60","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"455","DOI":"10.1016\/S0166-2236(00)01868-3","article-title":"Synaptic reverberation underlying mnemonic persistent activity","volume":"24","author":"Wang","year":"2001","journal-title":"Trends in Neurosciences"},{"key":"2021073021141504000_R61","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"11228","DOI":"10.1523\/JNEUROSCI.0735-12.2012","article-title":"From distributed resources to limited slots in multiple-item working memory: A spiking network model with normalization","volume":"32","author":"Wei","year":"2012","journal-title":"Journal of Neuroscience"},{"key":"2021073021141504000_R62","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"212","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jmp.2016.11.002","article-title":"Model-based functional neuroimaging using dynamic neural fields: An integrative cognitive neuroscience approach","volume":"76","author":"Wijeakumar","year":"2016","journal-title":"Journal of Mathematical Psychology"},{"key":"2021073021141504000_R63","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"431","DOI":"10.1038\/nn.3645","article-title":"Bump attractor dynamics in prefrontal cortex explains behavioral precision in spatial working memory","volume":"17","author":"Wimmer","year":"2014","journal-title":"Nature Neuroscience"},{"key":"2021073021141504000_R64","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"123","DOI":"10.3389\/fnsys.2015.00123","article-title":"Revealing hidden states in visual working memory using electroencephalography","volume":"9","author":"Wolff","year":"2015","journal-title":"Frontiers in Systems Neuroscience"},{"key":"2021073021141504000_R65","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"864","DOI":"10.1038\/nn.4546","article-title":"Dynamic hidden states underlying working-memory-guided behavior","volume":"20","author":"Wolff","year":"2017","journal-title":"Nature Neuroscience"},{"key":"2021073021141504000_R66","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"91","DOI":"10.1038\/nature04262","article-title":"Dissociable neural mechanisms supporting visual short-term memory for objects","volume":"440","author":"Xu","year":"2006","journal-title":"Nature"}],"container-title":["Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"http:\/\/direct.mit.edu\/jocn\/article-pdf\/29\/12\/1977\/1953280\/jocn_a_01180.pdf","content-type":"application\/pdf","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"syndication"},{"URL":"http:\/\/direct.mit.edu\/jocn\/article-pdf\/29\/12\/1977\/1953280\/jocn_a_01180.pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2021,7,31]],"date-time":"2021-07-31T03:06:22Z","timestamp":1627700782000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/direct.mit.edu\/jocn\/article\/29\/12\/1977\/28739\/Restoration-of-fMRI-Decodability-Does-Not-Imply"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2017,12,1]]},"references-count":66,"journal-issue":{"issue":"12","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2017,12,1]]},"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2017,12,1]]}},"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1162\/jocn_a_01180","relation":{},"ISSN":["0898-929X","1530-8898"],"issn-type":[{"value":"0898-929X","type":"print"},{"value":"1530-8898","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published-other":{"date-parts":[[2017,12]]},"published":{"date-parts":[[2017,12,1]]}}}