scholarly journals Reorienting Spatial Attention within Visual Working Memory

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sizhu Han ◽  
Yixuan Ku
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Spatial Attention ◽  
Load Condition ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Attentional Processing ◽  
Neural Data ◽  
Time Period ◽  
Exogenous Cues ◽  
Sensory Cortices ◽  
The Impact

AbstractAttention and working memory (WM) are intertwined core cognitive processes. Through four experiments with 133 participants, we dissociated the impact of two types of covert spatial attention, endogenous vs. exogenous, on visual WM. Behavioral results consistently indicated that exogenous attentional cues were more advantageous than endogenous ones in enhancing the precision of visual WM under load-2, while they equalized under load-4. In addition, physiological and neural data explained the mechanisms. Converging evidence from eye-tracking, electroencephalography, and magnetoencephalography suggested that fast attentional processing induced by exogenous cues lead to early top-down information from the dorsal lateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) to sensory cortices. The differential frontal activities were further correlated with the behavioral distinctions between exogenous and endogenous cues, and transcranial magnetic stimulation over DLPFC at the same time period abolished the exogenous advantage. Taken together, traditionally considered bottom-up attentional processing induced by exogenous cues rapidly engages top-down signals from the frontal cortex, which leads to stronger behavioral benefits compared with the benefits produced by endogenous cues under the low load condition.

EXPRESS: Bored, distracted and forgetful – The impact of mind wandering and boredom on memory encoding

2021 ◽  
pp. 174702182110263
Author(s):  
Philippe Blondé ◽  
Marco Sperduti ◽  
Dominique Makowski ◽  
Pascale Piolino
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Memory Load ◽  
Memory Performance ◽  
Load Condition ◽  
Recognition Task ◽  
Mind Wandering ◽  
Memory Encoding ◽  
Working Memory Load ◽  
Thought Probes ◽  
The Impact

Mind wandering, defined as focusing attention toward task unrelated thoughts, is a common mental state known to impair memory encoding. This phenomenon is closely linked to boredom. Very few studies, however, have tested the potential impact of boredom on memory encoding. Thus, the present study aimed at manipulating mind wandering and boredom during an incidental memory encoding task, to test their differential impact on memory encoding. Thirty-two participants performed a variant of the n-back task in which they had to indicate if the current on-screen object was the same as the previous one (1-back; low working memory load) or the one presented three trials before (3-back; high working memory load). Moreover, thought probes assessing either mind wandering or boredom were randomly presented. Afterward, a surprise recognition task was delivered. Results showed that mind wandering and boredom were highly correlated, and both decreased in the high working memory load condition, while memory performance increased. Although both boredom and mind wandering predicted memory performance taken separately, we found that mind wandering was the only reliable predictor of memory performance when controlling for boredom and working memory load. Model comparisons also revealed that a model with boredom only was outperformed by a model with mind wandering only and a model with both mind wandering and boredom, suggesting that the predictive contribution of boredom in the complete model is minimal. The present results confirm the high correlation between mind wandering and boredom and suggest that the hindering effect of boredom on memory is subordinate to the effect of mind wandering.

scholarly journals Working memory consolidation delays top-down attentional processing in visual Cortex: A time-resolved fMRI study

2010 ◽  
Vol 9 (8) ◽  
pp. 175-175
Author(s):  
P. Scalf ◽  
P. Dux ◽  
R. Marois
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Visual Cortex ◽  
Memory Consolidation ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Attentional Processing ◽  
Time Resolved ◽  
Fmri Study

scholarly journals The impact of retro-cue validity on working memory representation: Evidence from electroencephalograms

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xueying Fu ◽  
Chaoxiong Ye ◽  
huzhonghua ◽  
Tengfei Liang ◽  
Ziyuan Li ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Spatial Attention ◽  
Memory Storage ◽  
Time Interval ◽  
Memory Representation ◽  
Attention And Memory ◽  
Alpha Power ◽  
Cue Validity ◽  
Validity Condition ◽  
The Impact

Memory performance can be improved by retrospectively cueing an item maintained in visual working memory (VWM). Different hypotheses have been proposed to explain the mechanisms behind retro-cueing and VWM. Previous behavioral studies suggest that different retro-cue validities may lead individuals to implement retro-cues in different ways to obtain a retro-cue effect. However, there is still no clear electroencephalogram (EEG) evidence to support that the retro-cue effect under different validity conditions is triggered by different mechanisms. Herein, we investigated whether retro-cue validity modulated the mechanisms underlying the retro-cue effect in VWM by using EEGs. We manipulated retro-cue validity by using blocks in a color change detection task. Contralateral delay activity (CDA) and lateralized alpha power were used assess spatial attention and memory storage, respectively. Significant retro-cue effects were observed under both high- and low-validity conditions. More importantly, although the retro-cue could redirect spatial attention under both high- and low-validity conditions, we found that participants maintained the non-cued items during a measured time interval under the low-validity condition, but dropped them out of VWM under the high-validity condition. Our results resolve previous contradictory findings. The retro-cue effect in our study can be explained by the removal hypothesis, prioritization hypothesis, and protection-during-retrieval hypothesis. This work suggests that the mechanisms underlying the retro-cue effect are not mutually exclusive, but determined by the cue validity. Individuals can voluntarily choose different mechanisms based on the expected retro-cue validity.

scholarly journals The impact of top-down spatial attention on laterality and hemispheric asymmetry in the human parietal cortex

2016 ◽  
Vol 16 (10) ◽  
pp. 2 ◽  
Author(s):  
Su Keun Jeong ◽  
Yaoda Xu
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Attention ◽  
Parietal Cortex ◽  
Hemispheric Asymmetry ◽  
Top Down ◽  
The Impact

scholarly journals Working Memory, Strategy Execution, and Strategy Selection in Mental Arithmetic

2007 ◽  
Vol 60 (9) ◽  
pp. 1246-1264 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ineke Imbo ◽  
Sandrine Duverne ◽  
Patrick Lemaire
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Memory Load ◽  
Mental Arithmetic ◽  
Load Condition ◽  
Strategy Selection ◽  
Strategy Execution ◽  
Working Memory Load ◽  
Simple Strategy ◽  
Complex Multiplications ◽  
The Impact

A total of 72 participants estimated products of complex multiplications of two-digit operands (e.g., 63 × 78), using two strategies that differed in complexity. The simple strategy involved rounding both operands down to the closest decades (e.g., 60 × 70), whereas the complex strategy required rounding both operands up to the closest decades (e.g., 70 × 80). Participants accomplished this estimation task in two conditions: a no-load condition and a working-memory load condition in which executive components of working memory were taxed. The choice/no-choice method was used to obtain unbiased strategy execution and strategy selection data. Results showed that loading working-memory resources led participants to poorer strategy execution. Additionally, participants selected the simple strategy more often under working-memory load. We discuss the implications of the results to further our understanding of variations in strategy selection and execution, as well as our understanding of the impact of working-memory load on arithmetic performance and other cognitive domains.

scholarly journals No evidence of the effect of cognitive load on self-paced cycling performance

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Darias Holgado ◽  
Mikel Zabala ◽  
Daniel Sanabria
Keyword(s):  
Heart Rate ◽  
Working Memory ◽  
Cognitive Load ◽  
Power Output ◽  
Memory Load ◽  
Load Condition ◽  
Anecdotal Evidence ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Working Memory Load ◽  
Back Task

Objectives: to test the hypothesis that cognitive load (low vs. high load) during a 20 min self-paced cycling exercise affects physical performance.Design: A pre-registered (https://osf.io/qept5/), randomized, within-subject design experiment.Methods: 28 trained and experienced male cyclists completed a 20 min self-paced cycling time-trial exercise in two separate sessions, corresponding to two working memory load conditions: 1-back or 2-back. We measured power output, heart rate, RPE and mental fatigue.Results: Bayes analyses revealed extreme evidence for the 2-back task being more demanding than the 1-back task, both in terms of accuracy (BF10 = 4490) and reaction time (BF =1316). The data only showed anecdotal evidence for the alternative hypothesis for the power output (BF10= 1.52), moderate evidence for the null hypothesis for the heart rate (BF10 = 0.172), anecdotal evidence for RPE (BF10 = 0.72) and anecdotal evidence for mental fatigue (BF10 = 0.588).Conclusions: Our data seem to challenge the idea that self-paced exercise is regulated by top-down processing, given that we did not show clear evidence of exercise impairment (at the physical, physiological and subjective levels) in the high cognitive load condition task with respect to the low working memory load condition. The involvement of top-down processing in self-pacing the physical effort, however, cannot be totally discarded. Factors like the duration of the physical and cognitive tasks, the potential influence of dual-tasking, and the participants’ level of expertise, should be taken into account in future attempts to investigate the role of top-down processing in self-pace exercise

Do Children With Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) Have Difficulties With Interference Control, Visuospatial Working Memory, and Selective Attention? Developmental Patterns and the Role of Severity and Persistence of DLD

2020 ◽  
Vol 63 (9) ◽  
pp. 3036-3050
Author(s):  
Elma Blom ◽  
Tessel Boerma
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Selective Attention ◽  
Language Disorder ◽  
Typically Developing ◽  
Developmental Language Disorder ◽  
Visuospatial Working Memory ◽  
Interference Control ◽  
Developmental Patterns ◽  
Search Tasks ◽  
The Impact

Purpose Many children with developmental language disorder (DLD) have weaknesses in executive functioning (EF), specifically in tasks testing interference control and working memory. It is unknown how EF develops in children with DLD, if EF abilities are related to DLD severity and persistence, and if EF weaknesses expand to selective attention. This study aimed to address these gaps. Method Data from 78 children with DLD and 39 typically developing (TD) children were collected at three times with 1-year intervals. At Time 1, the children were 5 or 6 years old. Flanker, Dot Matrix, and Sky Search tasks tested interference control, visuospatial working memory, and selective attention, respectively. DLD severity was based on children's language ability. DLD persistence was based on stability of the DLD diagnosis. Results Performance on all tasks improved in both groups. TD children outperformed children with DLD on interference control. No differences were found for visuospatial working memory and selective attention. An interference control gap between the DLD and TD groups emerged between Time 1 and Time 2. Severity and persistence of DLD were related to interference control and working memory; the impact on working memory was stronger. Selective attention was unrelated to DLD severity and persistence. Conclusions Age and DLD severity and persistence determine whether or not children with DLD show EF weaknesses. Interference control is most clearly impaired in children with DLD who are 6 years and older. Visuospatial working memory is impaired in children with severe and persistent DLD. Selective attention is spared.

Susceptible to Distraction: Children Lack Top-Down Control Over Spatial Attention Capture

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicholas Gaspelin ◽  
Tessa Margett-Jordan ◽  
Eric Ruthruff
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Attention ◽  
Attention Capture ◽  
Top Down
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