2-D Neural Geometry Underpins Hierarchical Organization of Sequence in Human Working Memory

Download This Paper Open PDF in Browser Add Paper to My Library Share: Permalink Using these links will ensure access to this page indefinitely Copy URL 2-D Neural Geometry Underpins Hierarchical Organization of Sequence in Human Working Memory Neuron 39 Pages Posted: 23 Feb 2024 Publication Status: Under Review See all articles by Ying FanYing FanPeking Unversity - School of Psychological and Cognitive SciencesMuzhi WangPeking UniversityNai DingZhejiang UniversityHuan LuoPeking University - School of Psychological and Cognitive Sciences More... Abstract Working memory (WM) is constructive in nature. Instead of passively retaining information, WM reorganizes complex sequences into hierarchically embedded chunks to overcome capacity limits and facilitate flexible behavior. To investigate the neural mechanisms underlying hierarchical reorganization in WM, we performed three electroencephalography (EEG) and magnetoencephalography (MEG) experiments, wherein humans retained in WM a temporal sequence of items, i.e., syllables, which are organized into chunks, i.e., multisyllabic words. We demonstrate that the 1-D sequence is represented by 2-D neural representational geometry in WM, with separate dimensions encoding item position within a chunk and chunk position in the sequence. Critically, this 2-D geometry correlates with WM behavior and is observed consistently in different experimental settings, even during tasks discouraging hierarchical reorganization in WM. Overall, these findings strongly support that complex sequences are reorganized into factorized multi-dimensional neural representational geometry in WM, which also speak to general structure-based organizational principles given WM's involvement in many cognitive functions. Note: Funding Information: This work was supported by the National Science and Technology Innovation STI2030- Major Project 2021ZD0204100 (2021ZD0204103 to H.L.), National Natural Science Foundation of China (31930052 to H.L.), and China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (2023M740124 to Y.F.). Declaration of Interests: The authors declare no competing interests. Ethical Approval Statement: All subjects gave written informed consent prior to taking part in the experiments. The experiments received approval from the Departmental Ethical Committee of Peking University. Subjects received compensation for their participation in the form of either 60 RMB per hour or course credits. Keywords: 2-D neural representational geometry, sequence working memory, hierarchical structure, global rank, local rank, MEG, EEG, RSA Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation Fan, Ying and Wang, Muzhi and Ding, Nai and Luo, Huan, 2-D Neural Geometry Underpins Hierarchical Organization of Sequence in Human Working Memory. Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4735954 This version of the paper has not been formally peer reviewed. Ying Fan Peking Unversity - School of Psychological and Cognitive Sciences Muzhi Wang Peking University ( email ) No. 38 Xueyuan RoadHaidian DistrictBeijing, 100871China Nai Ding Zhejiang University ( email ) 38 Zheda RoadHangzhou, 310058China Huan Luo (Contact Author) Peking University - School of Psychological and Cognitive Sciences ( email ) China Download This Paper Open PDF in Browser Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus. Click here to go to Cell.com Go to Cell.com Paper statistics Downloads 1 Abstract Views 14 PlumX Metrics Cell Press Journals on Sneak Peek All Journals (9059) Cancer Cell (104) Cell (566) Cell Chemical Biology (141) Cell Genomics (18) Cell Host & Microbe (185) Cell Metabolism (143) Cell Press Community (115) Cell Reports (2084) Cell Reports Medicine (223) Cell Reports Methods (163) Cell Reports Physical Science (210) Cell Reports Sustainability (0) Cell Stem Cell (155) Cell Systems (84) Chem (154) Chem Catalysis (0) Current Biology (638) Developmental Cell (280) Device (0) Immunity (239) iScience (2158) Joule (299) Matter (143) Med (38) Molecular Cell (188) Neuron (389) One Earth (79) Patterns (119) Structure (139) Related eJournals Neurology eJournal Follow Neurology eJournal Subscribe to this free journal for more curated articles on this topic FOLLOWERS 89 PAPERS 4,425 Cell Press Follow Cell Press Subscribe to this free journal for more curated articles on this topic FOLLOWERS 20 PAPERS 9,059 Feedback Feedback to SSRN Feedback (required) Email (required) Submit If you need immediate assistance, call 877-SSRNHelp (877 777 6435) in the United States, or +1 212 448 2500 outside of the United States, 8:30AM to 6:00PM U.S. Eastern, Monday - Friday.