Current theories propose that the short-term retention of information in working memory (WM) and the recall of information from long-term memory (LTM) are supported by overlapping neural mechanisms in occipital and parietal cortex. However, the extent of the shared representations between WM and LTM is unclear. We designed a spatial memory task that allowed us to directly compare the representations of remembered spatial information in WM and LTM with carefully matched behavioral response precision between tasks. Using multivariate pattern analyses on functional magnetic resonance imaging data, we show that visual memories were represented in a sensory-like code in both memory tasks across retinotopic regions in occipital and parietal cortex. Regions in lateral parietal cortex also encoded remembered locations in both tasks, but in a format that differed from sensory-evoked activity. These results suggest a striking correspondence in the format of representations maintained in WM and retrieved from LTM across occipital and parietal cortex. On the other hand, we also show that activity patterns in nearly all parietal regions, but not occipital regions, contained information that could discriminate between WM and LTM trials. Our data provide new evidence for theories of memory systems and the representation of mnemonic content.

中文翻译：

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工作记忆中维护的信息和从长期记忆中检索到的信息的共享表示格式

目前的理论认为，工作记忆 (WM) 中信息的短期保留和长期记忆 (LTM) 中信息的回忆受到枕叶和顶叶皮层重叠神经机制的支持。然而，WM 和 LTM 之间共享表示的程度尚不清楚。我们设计了一个空间记忆任务，使我们能够直接比较 WM 和 LTM 中记忆空间信息的表示，并在任务之间仔细匹配行为响应精度。通过对功能性磁共振成像数据进行多变量模式分析，我们表明，在枕叶和顶叶皮层视网膜主题区域的记忆任务中，视觉记忆都以类似感觉的代码表示。外侧顶叶皮层的区域也编码了这两项任务中的记忆位置，但其形式不同于感官诱发的活动。这些结果表明，在 WM 中维护并从 LTM 跨枕叶和顶叶皮层检索到的表示格式存在惊人的对应关系。另一方面，我们还表明，几乎所有顶叶区域的活动模式，但不是枕叶区域，包含可以区分 WM 和 LTM 试验的信息。我们的数据为记忆系统理论和助记符内容的表示提供了新的证据。包含可以区分 WM 和 LTM 试验的信息。我们的数据为记忆系统理论和助记符内容的表示提供了新的证据。包含可以区分 WM 和 LTM 试验的信息。我们的数据为记忆系统理论和助记符内容的表示提供了新的证据。