Multiple forms of working memory emerge from synapse-astrocyte interactions

Competing accounts propose that working memory (WM) is subserved either by persistent activity in single neurons, or by time-varying activity across a neural population, or by activity-silent mechanisms carried out by hidden internal states of the neural population. While WM is traditionally regarded to originate exclusively from neuronal interactions, cortical networks also include astrocytes that can modulate neural activity. We propose that different mechanisms of WM can be brought forth by astrocyte-mediated modulations of synaptic transmitter release. In this account, the emergence of different mechanisms depends on the networks spontaneous activity and the geometry of the connections between synapses and astrocytes.