Working memory representations are spatially transferred in cortex during mental manipulations

Abstract Working Memory (WM) enables us to maintain and directly manipulate mental representations, yet we know little about the neural implementation of this privileged online format. We recorded EEG data as human subjects engaged in a task requiring continuous updates to the locations of objects retained in WM. Analysis of contralateral delay activity (CDA) revealed that mental representations moved across cortex in real time as their remembered locations were updated.