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# Two-dimensional neural geometry underpins hierarchical organization of sequence in human working memory

## Details

**Authors** Fan et al.

**Year** 2024

**Publisher** Nature Human Behaviour

**Discipline** Neuroscience

[Read it at the publisher](https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-024-02047-8) 
10.1038/s41562-024-02047-8

## In authors' words

### What they set out to do (purpose)

To determine how the brain organizes ordered sequences in working memory beyond a flat, linear code.

### What they found (results)

Across three EEG/MEG experiments, memorized sequences were represented by a low-dimensional neural geometry with orthogonal axes for an item's rank within its chunk and the chunk's rank within the sequence; the nested geometry arose automatically (even without task pressure to chunk) and tracked behavior.

## Commentary

### In short

Working memory encodes a sequence by nesting items within chunks and chunks within the whole sequence, using orthogonal neural dimensions for item-within-chunk and chunk-within-sequence position.

**Patterns it shows** S

**Added** 2026-08-01

**How to cite this** Fan et al. (2024). Two-dimensional neural geometry underpins hierarchical organization of sequence in human working memory. Nature Human Behaviour.