PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Pagnotta, Mattia F.
AU  - Santo-Angles, Aniol
AU  - Temudo, Ainsley
AU  - Barbosa, Joao
AU  - Compte, Albert
AU  - D’Esposito, Mark
AU  - Sreenivasan, Kartik K.
TI  - Alpha phase-coding supports feature binding during working memory maintenance
AID  - 10.1101/2024.01.21.576561
DP  - 2024 Jan 01
TA  - bioRxiv
PG  - 2024.01.21.576561
4099  - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2024/01/30/2024.01.21.576561.short
4100  - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2024/01/30/2024.01.21.576561.full
AB  - Working memory (WM) is the ability to retain and manipulate information in mind, which allows mnemonic representations to flexibly guide behavior. Successful WM requires that objects’ individual features are bound into cohesive representations, however the mechanisms supporting feature binding remain unclear. Binding errors (or swaps) provide a window into the intrinsic limits in capacity of WM. We tested the hypothesis that binding in WM is accomplished via neural phase synchrony and swaps result from its perturbations. Using magnetoencephalography data collected from human subjects, in a task designed to induce swaps, we showed that swaps are characterized by reduced phase-locked oscillatory activity during memory retention. We found that this reduction arises from increased phase-coding variability in the alpha-band, over a distributed network of sensorimotor areas. Our findings support the notion that feature binding in WM is accomplished through phase-coding dynamics that emerge from the competition between different memories.Competing Interest StatementThe authors have declared no competing interest.