Dr Qiaoli Huang | Spontaneous structural organization for efficient encoding in working memory

Working memory (WM) is a core cognitive function to flexibly inform and guide future behavior, with its capacity constraining various cognitive abilities. Previous empirical and modelling studies have implied that the human brain may compress or organize multiple sources of information based on their relational regularities, or underlying structure. However, empirical evidence is scarce for how the brain represents structural information in WM and for how it spontaneously leverages this information to organize the storage of multiple items in the service of efficient encoding. Recent developments in cognitive neuroscience suggest that cognitive maps may provide a general framework for organizing information in different tasks and across various domains. Here, I will present two studies using novel working memory paradigms in combination with EEG/MEG recording to examine the neural mechanisms supporting efficient information storage by leveraging the underlying task structure of mutiple feature domains.