Focus Switching in Working Memory

2018 ◽  
Vol 65 (3) ◽  
pp. 115-127 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rocío Linares ◽  
Santiago Pelegrina
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Focus Of Attention ◽  
Numerical Information ◽  
Content Retrieval ◽  
Information Contents ◽  
Types Of Information

Abstract. Focus switching in working memory involves accessing an object in the focus of attention in order to retrieve its content. Objects in working memory can be viewed as consisting of two types of information: contents (e.g., numerical information) and contexts (e.g., cues to retrieve the contents). This study examined the extent to which content retrieval and context access may be separated. Three experiments were carried out in which object switching and content retrieval were manipulated. In addition, the alternation between the retrieval operations was also manipulated. The main result was that content retrieval required time over and above that needed to access the object. This finding supports the idea that contexts and their contents may be accessed independently when an object is brought into the focus.

The focus of attention in working memory: Evidence from a word updating task

Memory ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 211-225 ◽  
Author(s):  
Markus Janczyk ◽  
Joachim Grabowski
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Focus Of Attention

scholarly journals Motor learning in children with developmental coordination disorder: The role of focus of attention and working memory

2018 ◽  
Vol 62 ◽  
pp. 211-220 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandra J.M. van Cappellen – van Maldegem ◽  
Femke van Abswoude ◽  
Hilde Krajenbrink ◽  
Bert Steenbergen
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Motor Learning ◽  
Developmental Coordination Disorder ◽  
Focus Of Attention ◽  
Coordination Disorder

scholarly journals The Time-Course of the Last-Presented Benefit in Working Memory: Shifts in the Content of the Focus of Attention

2022 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 8
Author(s):  
Beatrice Valentini ◽  
Kim Uittenhove ◽  
Evie Vergauwe
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Time Course ◽  
Focus Of Attention

scholarly journals Time-invariant working memory representations in the presence of code-morphing in the lateral prefrontal cortex

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Aishwarya Parthasarathy ◽  
Cheng Tang ◽  
Roger Herikstad ◽  
Loong Fah Cheong ◽  
Shih-Cheng Yen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Prefrontal Cortex ◽  
Dimensional Subspace ◽  
Neural Data ◽  
Neuronal Populations ◽  
Attractor Model ◽  
Memory Representations ◽  
Low Dimensional ◽  
Types Of Information ◽  
Time Invariant

Abstract Maintenance of working memory is thought to involve the activity of prefrontal neuronal populations with strong recurrent connections. However, it was recently shown that distractors evoke a morphing of the prefrontal population code, even when memories are maintained throughout the delay. How can a morphing code maintain time-invariant memory information? We hypothesized that dynamic prefrontal activity contains time-invariant memory information within a subspace of neural activity. Using an optimization algorithm, we found a low-dimensional subspace that contains time-invariant memory information. This information was reduced in trials where the animals made errors in the task, and was also found in periods of the trial not used to find the subspace. A bump attractor model replicated these properties, and provided predictions that were confirmed in the neural data. Our results suggest that the high-dimensional responses of prefrontal cortex contain subspaces where different types of information can be simultaneously encoded with minimal interference.

scholarly journals Dissecting the Neural Focus of Attention Reveals Distinct Processes for Spatial Attention and Object-Based Storage in Visual Working Memory

2019 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
pp. 526-540 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicole Hakim ◽  
Kirsten C. S. Adam ◽  
Eren Gunseli ◽  
Edward Awh ◽  
Edward K. Vogel
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Spatial Attention ◽  
Spatial Information ◽  
Focus Of Attention ◽  
Neural Signals ◽  
Attention Task ◽  
Spatial Orienting ◽  
Object Based ◽  
Object Storage ◽  
On Line

Complex cognition relies on both on-line representations in working memory (WM), said to reside in the focus of attention, and passive off-line representations of related information. Here, we dissected the focus of attention by showing that distinct neural signals index the on-line storage of objects and sustained spatial attention. We recorded electroencephalogram (EEG) activity during two tasks that employed identical stimulus displays but varied the relative demands for object storage and spatial attention. We found distinct delay-period signatures for an attention task (which required only spatial attention) and a WM task (which invoked both spatial attention and object storage). Although both tasks required active maintenance of spatial information, only the WM task elicited robust contralateral delay activity that was sensitive to mnemonic load. Thus, we argue that the focus of attention is maintained via a collaboration between distinct processes for covert spatial orienting and object-based storage.

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