Modeling biological systems

Representation of working memory items in the brain

Working memory describes the brain's capacity to temporarily store a limited number of items. Its limited capacity sets it apart from stable long-term memory system. There is one synaptic signaling pathway, which has implications for working memory performance, has been associated with shizophrenia -- and has been shown to interfer with a specific type of synaptic plasticity. We set up a simplified model of this pathway,

and included its effect in a computational working memory model

based on population spikes

. We observe a rich dynamic behavior, including the emergence of transient population spikes

as well as hitherto unobserved filtering properties which could be linked to working memory deficits associated with malfunctioning of the synaptic signaling pathway. Check out our work on BioRXiv

.