Persistent activity in the prefrontal cortex during working memory

The dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) plays a crucial role in working memory. Notably, persistent activity in the DLPFC is often observed during the reten-tion interval of delayed response tasks. The code carried by the persistent activity remains unclear, however. We critically evaluate how well recent findings from func-tional magnetic resonance imaging studies are compa-tible with current models of the role of the DLFPC in working memory. These new findings suggest that the DLPFC aids in the maintenance of information by directing attention to internal representations of sen-sory stimuli and motor plans that are stored in more posterior regions. Working memory refers to the temporary representation of information that was just experienced or just retrieve