Spatial Attention in Serial Order Working Memory: An EEG Study

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vesal Rasoulzadeh ◽  
Muhammet Ikbal Sahan ◽  
Jean-Philippe van Dijck ◽  
Elger Abrahamse ◽  
Anna Marzecova ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Spatial Attention ◽  
Memory Search ◽  
Serial Order ◽  
Verbal Working Memory ◽  
Theoretical Models ◽  
Order Processing ◽  
Continuous Electroencephalography ◽  
The Right ◽  
Directing Attention

Abstract Theoretical models explaining serial order processing link order information to specified position markers. However, the precise characteristics of position marking have remained largely elusive. Recent studies have shown that space is involved in marking serial position of items in verbal working memory (WM). Furthermore, it has been suggested, but not proven, that accessing these items involves horizontal shifts of spatial attention. We used continuous electroencephalography recordings to show that memory search in serial order verbal WM involves spatial attention processes that share the same electrophysiological signatures as those operating on the visuospatial WM and external space. Accessing an item from a sequence in verbal WM induced posterior “early directing attention negativity” and “anterior directing attention negativity” contralateral to the position of the item in mental space (i.e., begin items on the left; end items on the right). In the frequency domain, we observed posterior alpha suppression contralateral to the position of the item. Our results provide clear evidence for the involvement of spatial attention in retrieving serial information from verbal WM. Implications for WM models are discussed.

scholarly journals Spatial Attention Interacts With Serial-Order Retrieval From Verbal Working Memory

2013 ◽  
Vol 24 (9) ◽  
pp. 1854-1859 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean-Philippe van Dijck ◽  
Elger L. Abrahamse ◽  
Steve Majerus ◽  
Wim Fias
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Spatial Attention ◽  
Serial Order ◽  
Verbal Working Memory

Order Information in Verbal Working Memory Shifts the Subjective Midpoint in Both the Line Bisection and the Landmark Tasks

2017 ◽  
Vol 70 (10) ◽  
pp. 1973-1983 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sophie Antoine ◽  
Mariagrazia Ranzini ◽  
Titia Gebuis ◽  
Jean-Philippe van Dijck ◽  
Wim Gevers
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Serial Order ◽  
Verbal Working Memory ◽  
Ordinal Position ◽  
Line Bisection ◽  
Spatial Processing ◽  
Continuous Processing ◽  
Left And Right ◽  
The Right ◽  
Line Bisection Task

A largely substantiated view in the domain of working memory is that the maintenance of serial order is achieved by generating associations of each item with an independent representation of its position, so-called position markers. Recent studies reported that the ordinal position of an item in verbal working memory interacts with spatial processing. This suggests that position markers might be spatial in nature. However, these interactions were so far observed in tasks implying a clear binary categorization of space (i.e., with left and right responses or targets). Such binary categorizations leave room for alternative interpretations, such as congruency between non-spatial categorical codes for ordinal position (e.g., begin and end) and spatial categorical codes for response (e.g., left and right). Here we discard this interpretation by providing evidence that this interaction can also be observed in a task that draws upon a continuous processing of space, the line bisection task. Specifically, bisections are modulated by ordinal position in verbal working memory, with lines bisected more towards the right after retrieving items from the end compared to the beginning of the memorized sequence. This supports the idea that position markers are intrinsically spatial in nature.

Grounding Verbal Working Memory: The Case of Serial Order

2017 ◽  
Vol 26 (5) ◽  
pp. 429-433 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elger L. Abrahamse ◽  
Jean-Philippe van Dijck ◽  
Wim Fias
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Cognitive Science ◽  
Spatial Attention ◽  
Serial Order ◽  
Verbal Working Memory ◽  
Spatial Processing ◽  
Future Studies ◽  
Attention System ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities

The maintenance of serial order in verbal working memory (WM) is a major unsolved puzzle in cognitive science. Here we review a series of studies showing that serial order in verbal WM closely interacts with spatial processing. Accordingly, we outline the “mental whiteboard hypothesis,” which postulates that serial order in verbal WM is grounded in the spatial attention system. Specifically, serial context in verbal WM is provided by binding the memoranda to coordinates within an internal, spatially defined system within which (internal) spatial attention is at play to the purpose of searching for and retrieving information. Challenges and opportunities to be considered in future studies are discussed.

scholarly journals The developmental neural substrates of item and serial order components of verbal working memory

2018 ◽  
Vol 40 (5) ◽  
pp. 1541-1553 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lucie Attout ◽  
Laura Ordonez Magro ◽  
Arnaud Szmalec ◽  
Steve Majerus
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Serial Order ◽  
Verbal Working Memory ◽  
Neural Substrates ◽  
Order Components

Dynamics of Within-, Inter-, and Cross-Modal Attentional Modulation

2011 ◽  
Vol 105 (2) ◽  
pp. 674-686 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tetsuo Kida ◽  
Koji Inui ◽  
Emi Tanaka ◽  
Ryusuke Kakigi
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Attention ◽  
Interstimulus Interval ◽  
Temporal Dynamics ◽  
Visual Stimulation ◽  
The Other ◽  
Neural Representations ◽  
Tactile Stimuli ◽  
Sensory Modalities ◽  
The Right ◽  
Directing Attention

Numerous studies have demonstrated effects of spatial attention within single sensory modalities (within-modal spatial attention) and the effect of directing attention to one sense compared with the other senses (intermodal attention) on cortical neuronal activity. Furthermore, recent studies have been revealing that the effects of spatial attention directed to a certain location in a certain sense spread to the other senses at the same location in space (cross-modal spatial attention). The present study used magnetoencephalography to examine the temporal dynamics of the effects of within-modal and cross-modal spatial and intermodal attention on cortical processes responsive to visual stimuli. Visual or tactile stimuli were randomly presented on the left or right side at a random interstimulus interval and subjects directed attention to the left or right when vision or touch was a task-relevant modality. Sensor-space analysis showed that a response around the occipitotemporal region at around 150 ms after visual stimulation was significantly enhanced by within-modal, cross-modal spatial, and intermodal attention. A later response over the right frontal region at around 200 ms was enhanced by within-modal spatial and intermodal attention, but not by cross-modal spatial attention. These effects were estimated to originate from the occipitotemporal and lateral frontal areas, respectively. Thus the results suggest different spatiotemporal dynamics of neural representations of cross-modal attention and intermodal or within-modal attention.

scholarly journals Testing Conclusions From Functional Imaging of Working Memory with Data From Acute Stroke

2007 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-43 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa E. Philipose ◽  
Hannah Alphs ◽  
Vivek Prabhakaran ◽  
Argye E. Hillis
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Acute Stroke ◽  
Functional Imaging ◽  
Right Hemisphere ◽  
Spatial Working Memory ◽  
Verbal Working Memory ◽  
Stroke Patients ◽  
Imaging Results ◽  
Cortical Stroke ◽  
The Right

Functional imaging studies indicate that the left hemisphere mediates verbal working memory, while the right hemisphere mediates both verbal and spatial working memory. We evaluated acute stroke patients with working memory tests and imaging to identify whether unilateral dysfunction causes deficits in spatial and/or verbal working memory deficits. While left cortical stroke patients had verbal working memory impairments (p< 0.003), right cortical stroke patients had both verbal (p< 0.007) and spatial working memory (p< 0.03) impairments, confirming functional imaging results. Patients with transient ischemic stroke and patients with non-cortical stroke did not have significant deficits in working memory in either modality.

Hemispatial neglect and serial order in verbal working memory

2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 272-288 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sophie Antoine ◽  
Mariagrazia Ranzini ◽  
Jean-Philippe van Dijck ◽  
Hichem Slama ◽  
Mario Bonato ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Serial Order ◽  
Verbal Working Memory ◽  
Hemispatial Neglect

Is it a Small World After All? Investigating the Theoretical Structure of Working Memory Cross-Nationally

2017 ◽  
Vol 17 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 331-353 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tracy Packiam Alloway ◽  
Robert Moulder ◽  
John C. Horton ◽  
Aaron Leedy ◽  
Lisa M. D. Archibald ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Cognitive Skills ◽  
Cultural Context ◽  
Spatial Working Memory ◽  
Factor Model ◽  
Small World ◽  
Verbal Working Memory ◽  
Theoretical Models ◽  
Specific Model ◽  
Computerized Assessment

Abstract To our knowledge, this is one of the first studies to test different theoretical models of working memory in childhood based on a computerized assessment. We tested this across several countries: Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Italy, and uk. The present study addressed the wider macro-cultural context and how this impacts working memory. We used two economic indices (gdp and ppp) to characterize the participating countries and ranked the countries based on the Global Index of Cognitive Skills and Educational Attainment. Children between 5 and 10 years completed the same set of short-term and working memory tests. There were two main findings. First, there was a similar pattern in verbal working memory across countries, which suggests that this skill may be relatively consistent across different cultural groups. In contrast, the pattern for visuo-spatial working memory was different across countries, which may explained by cultural differences and educational rankings of the countries. The second main finding was that both a domain-general model (3-factor) and a domain-specific model (4-factor) provided a reasonably good fit with the data, there was the high relationship between the verbal and visuo-spatial working memory constructs across the countries in the latter model. Thus, it may be a more parsimonious choice to rely on a three-factor model. The data also suggest culture-similar patterns in a computerized assessment of working memory.

Interference with Rehearsal in Spatial Working Memory in the Absence of Eye Movements

1996 ◽  
Vol 49 (4) ◽  
pp. 940-949 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary M. Smyth
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Eye Movements ◽  
Eye Movement ◽  
Spatial Attention ◽  
Spatial Working Memory ◽  
Spatial Encoding ◽  
Rehearsal Strategy ◽  
The Right ◽  
Attention Shifts

We have previously argued that rehearsal in spatial working memory is interfered with by spatial attention shifts rather than simply by movements to locations in space (Smyth & Scholey, 1994). It is possible, however, that the stimuli intended to induce attention shifts in our experiments also induced eye movements and interfered either with an overt eye movement rehearsal strategy or with a covert one. In the first experiment reported here, subjects fixated while they maintained a sequence of spatial items in memory before recalling them in order. Fixation did not affect recall, but auditory spatial stimuli presented during the interval did decrease performance, and it was further decreased if the stimuli were categorized as coming from the right or the left. A second experiment investigated the effects of auditory spatial stimuli to which no response was ever required and found that these did not interfere with performance, indicating that it is the spatial salience of targets that leads to interference. This interference from spatial input in the absence of any overt movement of the eyes or limbs is interpreted in terms of shifts of spatial attention or spatial monitoring, which Morris (1989) has suggested affects spatial encoding and which our findings suggest also affects reactivation in rehearsal.

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