This study used ultra-high field 7T fMRI to investigate the subcortical involvement in different working memory updating subprocesses. The key findings are:
Gate opening was associated with widespread cortical activation, including frontal, parietal, and occipital regions, as well as the thalamus. However, the ROI analyses provided only weak evidence for thalamic involvement, suggesting inconclusive results for subcortical engagement during gate opening.
During gate closing, the ROI analyses indicated moderate evidence for involvement of the right globus pallidus externa (GPe) and weak evidence for the right striatum and subthalamic nucleus (STN), as well as bilateral substantia nigra (SN). This suggests a role for basal ganglia and dopaminergic midbrain regions in the process of closing the working memory gate.
Substitution, the process of replacing old information with new in working memory, was associated with activation in the striatum bilaterally, right STN, and right ventral tegmental area (VTA). This indicates engagement of the basal ganglia and dopaminergic midbrain regions in the actual updating of working memory content.
Being in an updating mode, independent of whether updating was required, was linked to activity in the left and right globus pallidus externa (GPe), right STN, and right SN. This suggests a more general involvement of basal ganglia and dopaminergic midbrain regions in maintaining an open state of the working memory gate.
Overall, the findings expand our understanding of the subcortical regions involved in working memory updating, providing evidence for the role of the basal ganglia and dopaminergic midbrain, particularly during gate closing, substitution, and the general updating mode, but not during gate opening.
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by Trutti,A. C.... kl. www.biorxiv.org 03-14-2024
https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2024.03.14.584970v2Dybere Forespørgsler