ArticleNature2019
Discrete attractor dynamics underlies persistent activity in the frontal cortex.
Article in Nature, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 204 papers.
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Who cites it
204 citing papers in PubMed.
- Article
- Article
- Population geometries in frontal cortex coordinate value-based decisions.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- A Brain-wide Neuronal Spiking and Behavioral Dataset for Working Memory-specific Activation and Reactivation in Mice.Neuroscience bulletin · 2026Article
- Interpretable Machine Learning Identifies an Emergent Absence Seizure Mechanism.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Lipid Activation of a Thalamic GPCR Extends Working Memory Time-scales.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Intrinsic timing, not temporal prediction, underlies ramping dynamics in visual and parietal cortex during passive behavior.Science advances · 2026Article
- Neural dynamics underlying minute-timescale persistent behaviour in the human brain.Nature human behaviour · 2026Article
- Inferring brain-wide interactions using data-constrained recurrent neural network models.Neuron · 2026Article
- Subicular plateaus signal reward locations during goal-directed behavior.Cell reports · 2026Article
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- Decoding behavior with minimal and interpretable agent models.PLoS computational biology · 2026Article
- Redundant prefrontal hemispheres adapt storage strategy to working memory demands.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Hippocampal engrams configure prefrontal context representations to guide flexible decisions.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Complementary roles of cell-type-specific plasticity in shaping neocortical dynamics for learning action timing.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Low-dimensional population dynamics in the brainstem gate REM sleep.Nature neuroscience · 2026Article
- Para-uterine imaging protocol: Stabilizing living mouse embryos within the maternal abdomen for in vivo imaging and visually guided physiology.STAR protocols · 2026Article
- Deconstructing a behavioral state: parallel neural integrators control distinct features of an aversive behavioral state inbioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Somatosensory input drives membrane potential dynamics in motor cortex during voluntary limb movement.PLoS biology · 2026Article
- Data-derived agents reveal dynamical reservoirs in mouse cortex for adaptive behavior.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
144 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Short-term memories link events separated in time, such as past sensation and future actions. Short-term memories are correlated with slow neural dynamics, including selective persistent activity, which can be maintained over seconds. In a delayed response task that requires short-term memory, neurons in the mouse anterior lateral motor cortex (ALM) show persistent activity that instructs future actions. To determine the principles that underlie this persistent activity, here we combined intracellular and extracellular electrophysiology with optogenetic perturbations and network modelling. We show that during the delay epoch, the activity of ALM neurons moved towards discrete end points that correspond to specific movement directions. These end points were robust to transient shifts in ALM activity caused by optogenetic perturbations. Perturbations occasionally switched the population dynamics to the other end point, followed by incorrect actions. Our results show that discrete attractor dynamics underlie short-term memory related to motor planning.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.