The neural substrate of orientation short-term memory and resistance to distractor items.

Full Abstract

We used Positron Emission Tomography to map the neural substrate of human short-term memory for orientation, defined as retaining a single orientation in memory over a long delay, by comparing a successive discrimination task with a 6-s delay to the same task with a brief 0.3 s delay and to an identification control task. Short-term memory engaged the superior parietal lobe bilaterally, the middle occipital gyrus bilaterally and the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. In addition, we studied the resistance to a distractor item by comparing the successive discrimination task with long delay, with and without an intervening distractor stimulus. This manipulative process engaged left ventral premotor cortex and left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. The activation of left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex is interpreted as reflecting co-ordination between task components. These results, combined with those of two previous studies using an identical reduction strategy, underscore the functional heterogeneity in the prefrontal cortex during short-term and working memory.

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Author information

Author/s: Cornette, L (L); Dupont, P (P); Orban, G A (GA);

Affiliation: Laboratorium voor Neuro- en Psychofysiologie, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Medical School, Campus Gasthuisberg, Herestraat 49, B-3000 Leuven, Belgium.

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Clinical Trial; Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Journal: The European journal of neuroscience (Eur J Neurosci), published in France. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2002-Jan; vol 15 (issue 1) : pp 165-75

Dates: Created 2002/02/25; Completed 2002/04/25; Revised 2006/11/15;

PMID: 11860517, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 12/26/2008)

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

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MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

Adolescent
Adult
Attention - physiology
Brain - physiology
Discrimination (Psychology) - physiology
Female
Humans

Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Male
Memory, Short-Term - physiology
Orientation - physiology
Pattern Recognition, Visual - physiology
Space Perception
Visual Perception - physiology

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