Center Calendar

"Neural Dynamics of Working Memory" Dr. Tim Buschman (Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Princeton University)

Tuesday, November 08, 2022, 02:00pm - 03:20pm

152 Frelinghuysen Rd, Psych Bldg. Room 105

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Abstract: Working memory is our ability to hold things ‘in mind’, acting as a flexible substrate on which thoughts can be placed and manipulated. Despite its importance to cognition, working memory is surprisingly fragile: working memory representations degrade over time and are susceptible to interference from other stimuli. In this talk, I will discuss two ways in which neural dynamics may help to protect working memory. First, I will discuss how attractor dynamics within memory space can mitigate the impact of neural noise. In particular, as sensory information degrades, attractor dynamics integrate prior beliefs into the memory. Second, I will discuss how sensory representations dynamically transform into working memory representations in a way that avoids interference. Together, these results highlight the role of dynamics in protecting the contents of working memory from noise and interference.

Bio: Dr. Timothy Buschman is an Associate Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience at Princeton University. He received his PhD is Neuroscience from MIT in 2008. His research focuses on understanding 'cognitive control', i.e., how the brain controls behavior. If you are interested in meeting with Dr. Buschman, please email me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.