The representation of abstract goals in working memory is supported by task-congruent neural geometry

by Mengya Zhang, Qing Yu

Successful goal-directed behavior requires the maintenance and implementation of abstract task goals on concrete stimulus information in working memory. Previous working memory research has revealed distributed neural representations of task information across cortex. However, how the distributed task representations emerge and communicate with stimulus-specific information to implement flexible goal-directed computations is still unclear. Here, leveraging electroencephalography (EEG) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in human participants along with state space analyses, we provided converging evidence in support of a low-dimensional neural geometry of goal information congruent with a designed task space, which first emerged in frontal cortex during goal maintenance and then transferred to posterior cortex through frontomedial-to-posterior theta coherence for implementation on stimulus-specific representations. Importantly, the fidelity of the goal geometry was associated with memory performance. Collectively, our findings suggest that abstract goals in working memory are represented in an organized, task-congruent neural geometry for communications from frontal to posterior cortex to enable computations necessary for goal-directed behaviors.