Visual short term memory related brain activity predicts mathematical abilities.

Our ability to hold information in mind is strictly limited. We sought to understand the relationship between oscillatory brain activity and the allocation of resources within visual short-term memory (VSTM). Participants attempted to remember target arrows embedded among distracters and used a continuous method of responding to report their memory for a cued target item. Trial-to-trial variability in the absolute circular accuracy with which participants could report the target was predicted by event-related alpha synchronization during initial processing of the memoranda and by alpha desynchronization during the retrieval of those items from VSTM. Using a model-based approach, we were also able to explore further which parameters of VSTM-guided behavior were most influenced by alpha band changes. Alpha synchronization during item processing enhanced the precision with which an item could be retained without affecting the likelihood of an item being represented per se (as indexed by the guessing rate). Importantly, our data outline a neural mechanism that mirrors the precision with which items are retained; the greater the alpha power enhancement during encoding, the greater the precision with which that item can be retained.

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Distinguishing between lateralized and nonlateralized brain activity associated with visual short-term memory: fMRI, MEG, and EEG evidence from the same observers

NeuroImage ◽

10.1016/j.neuroimage.2010.07.027 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 53 (4) ◽

pp. 1334-1345 ◽

Cited By ~ 47

Author(s):

Nicolas Robitaille ◽

René Marois ◽

Jay Todd ◽

Stephan Grimault ◽

Douglas Cheyne ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Short Term Memory ◽

Brain Activity ◽

Short Term ◽

Term Memory ◽

Visual Short Term Memory

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Dynamic Visual Noise Affects Visual Short-Term Memory for Surface Color, but not Spatial Location

Experimental Psychology (formerly Zeitschrift für Experimentelle Psychologie) ◽

10.1027/1618-3169/a000003 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 57 (1) ◽

pp. 17-26 ◽

Cited By ~ 19

Author(s):

Kevin Dent

Keyword(s):

Short Term Memory ◽

Spatial Location ◽

Visual Noise ◽

Dynamic Visual Noise ◽

Short Term ◽

Surface Color ◽

Term Memory ◽

Visual Short Term Memory ◽

Experimental Tool ◽

Spatial Locations

In two experiments participants retained a single color or a set of four spatial locations in memory. During a 5 s retention interval participants viewed either flickering dynamic visual noise or a static matrix pattern. In Experiment 1 memory was assessed using a recognition procedure, in which participants indicated if a particular test stimulus matched the memorized stimulus or not. In Experiment 2 participants attempted to either reproduce the locations or they picked the color from a whole range of possibilities. Both experiments revealed effects of dynamic visual noise (DVN) on memory for colors but not for locations. The implications of the results for theories of working memory and the methodological prospects for DVN as an experimental tool are discussed.

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Time Window from Visual Images to Visual Short-Term Memory: Consolidation or Integration?

Experimental Psychology (formerly Zeitschrift für Experimentelle Psychologie) ◽

10.1027/1618-3169.51.1.45 ◽

2004 ◽

Vol 51 (1) ◽

pp. 45-51 ◽

Cited By ~ 21

Author(s):

Yuhong Jiang

Keyword(s):

Short Term Memory ◽

Time Window ◽

Short Interval ◽

Visual Images ◽

Short Term ◽

Temporal Window ◽

Term Memory ◽

Visual Short Term Memory ◽

Probe Task ◽

Long Time

Abstract. When two dot arrays are briefly presented, separated by a short interval of time, visual short-term memory of the first array is disrupted if the interval between arrays is shorter than 1300-1500 ms ( Brockmole, Wang, & Irwin, 2002 ). Here we investigated whether such a time window was triggered by the necessity to integrate arrays. Using a probe task we removed the need for integration but retained the requirement to represent the images. We found that a long time window was needed for performance to reach asymptote even when integration across images was not required. Furthermore, such window was lengthened if subjects had to remember the locations of the second array, but not if they only conducted a visual search among it. We suggest that a temporal window is required for consolidation of the first array, which is vulnerable to disruption by subsequent images that also need to be memorized.

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