Working models of working memory

•Working memory models need to address computational and data driven constraints.•Traditional models suggested stationary persistent activity as the main mechanism.•STP, balanced E/I, and intrinsic network dynamics can explain more aspects of WM.•The brain may utilize a plethora of different processes to support WM.

Working memory is a system that maintains and manipulates information for several seconds during the planning and execution of many cognitive tasks. Traditionally, it was believed that the neuronal underpinning of working memory is stationary persistent firing of selective neuronal populations. Recent advances introduced new ideas regarding possible mechanisms of working memory, such as short-term synaptic facilitation, precise tuning of recurrent excitation and inhibition, and intrinsic network dynamics. These ideas are motivated by computational considerations and careful analysis of experimental data. Taken together, they may indicate the plethora of different processes underlying working memory in the brain.