Distinct contributions by frontal and parietal cortices support working memory

Abstract

Although subregions of frontal and parietal cortex both contribute and coordinate to support working memory (WM) functions, their distinct contributions remain elusive. Here, we demonstrate that perturbations to topographically organized human frontal and parietal cortex during WM maintenance cause distinct but systematic distortions in WM. The nature of these distortions supports theories positing that parietal cortex mainly codes for retrospective sensory information, while frontal cortex codes for prospective action.\n\nAcknowledgementsThe US National Institutes of Health (R01 EY016407 to C.E.C.) and the National Science Foundation (Graduate Research Fellowship Program to W.E.M.) supported the research.\n\nAuthor ContributionsW.E.M and C.E.C. designed the experiment, collected and analyzed the data, and wrote the manuscript.\n\nConflict of interestThe authors declare no competing financial interests.