Calendar

Talk 1

Speaker

Halgurd Taher (MathNeuro)

Title

The magical number 5

Abstract

Working memory (WM) describes a fundamental cognitive system allowing us to temporarily memorize, access and manipulate information perceived through our senses. It is essential in order to pass from reflexive input-output reactions to the organization of goal-directed behavior. I will give a brief overview of experimental results revealing the neural mechanisms behind working memory and introduce a simple WM model. The model is based on short-term synaptic plasticity, which refers to changes of synaptic transmission strength upon spiking activity of neurons. It allows to investigate everyday life phenomena related to limitations of working memory such as the so called primacy & recency effect.