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Perturbing human V1 degrades the fidelity of visual working memory

Author

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  • Mrugank Dake

    (New York University)

  • Clayton E. Curtis

    (New York University
    New York University)

Abstract

Decades of macaque research established the importance of prefrontal cortex for working memory. Surprisingly, recent human neuroimaging studies demonstrated that the contents of working memory can be decoded from primary visual cortex (V1). However the necessity of this mnemonic information remains unknown and contentious. Here we provide causal evidence that transcranial magnetic stimulation targeting human V1 disrupted the fidelity of visual working memory. Errors increased only for targets remembered in the portion of the visual field disrupted by stimulation. Moreover, concurrently measured electroencephalography confirmed that stimulation disrupted not only memory behavior, but neurophysiological signatures of working memory. These results change the question from whether visual cortex is necessary for working memory to what mechanisms it uses to support memory. Moreover, they point to models in which the mechanisms supporting working memory are distributed across brain regions, including sensory areas that here we show are critical for memory storage.

Suggested Citation

  • Mrugank Dake & Clayton E. Curtis, 2025. "Perturbing human V1 degrades the fidelity of visual working memory," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 16(1), pages 1-8, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:16:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-025-57882-8
    DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-57882-8
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Maria C. Romero & Marco Davare & Marcelo Armendariz & Peter Janssen, 2019. "Neural effects of transcranial magnetic stimulation at the single-cell level," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 10(1), pages 1-11, December.
    2. Timo van Kerkoerle & Matthew W. Self & Pieter R. Roelfsema, 2017. "Erratum: Layer-specificity in the effects of attention and working memory on activity in primary visual cortex," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 8(1), pages 1-2, August.
    3. Stephenie A. Harrison & Frank Tong, 2009. "Decoding reveals the contents of visual working memory in early visual areas," Nature, Nature, vol. 458(7238), pages 632-635, April.
    4. Grace E. Hallenbeck & Thomas C. Sprague & Masih Rahmati & Kartik K. Sreenivasan & Clayton E. Curtis, 2021. "Working memory representations in visual cortex mediate distraction effects," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 12(1), pages 1-18, December.
    5. Timo van Kerkoerle & Matthew W. Self & Pieter R. Roelfsema, 2017. "Layer-specificity in the effects of attention and working memory on activity in primary visual cortex," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 8(1), pages 1-14, April.
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