Keeping Priorities: The Role of Working Memory and Selective Attention in Cognitive Aging

2005 ◽  
Vol 2005 (44) ◽  
pp. pe34-pe34 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. W. de Fockert
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Selective Attention ◽  
Cognitive Aging

scholarly journals The Role of Working Memory in Selective Attention

2015 ◽  
Vol 15 (12) ◽  
pp. 671
Author(s):  
Melissa Trevino ◽  
Bruno Breitmeyer ◽  
Jane Jacob
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Selective Attention

scholarly journals The Role of Selective Attention in Visual Working Memory Capacity: An ERP study

2010 ◽  
Vol 10 (7) ◽  
pp. 711-711
Author(s):  
J. Kreither ◽  
J. Lopez-Calderon ◽  
F. Aboitiz ◽  
S. Luck
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Selective Attention ◽  
Visual Working Memory ◽  
Working Memory Capacity ◽  
Memory Capacity

scholarly journals The Role of Working Memory in Visual Selective Attention

Science ◽  
2001 ◽  
Vol 291 (5509) ◽  
pp. 1803-1806 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. W. de Fockert
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Selective Attention ◽  
Visual Selective Attention

scholarly journals Autonomic Activity during a Daytime Nap Facilitates Working Memory Improvement

2020 ◽  
Vol 32 (10) ◽  
pp. 1963-1974 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pin-Chun Chen ◽  
Lauren N. Whitehurst ◽  
Mohsen Naji ◽  
Sara C. Mednick
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Young Adults ◽  
Cognitive Aging ◽  
Parasympathetic Activity ◽  
Autonomic Activity ◽  
Autonomic Nervous ◽  
Operation Span ◽  
Cardiac Parasympathetic Activity ◽  
Daytime Nap

Recent investigations have implicated the parasympathetic branch of the autonomic nervous system in higher-order executive functions. These actions are purported to occur through autonomic nervous system's modulation of the pFC, with parasympathetic activity during wake associated with working memory (WM) ability. Compared with wake, sleep is a period with substantially greater parasympathetic tone. Recent work has reported that sleep may also contribute to improvement in WM. Here, we examined the role of cardiac parasympathetic activity during sleep on WM improvement in healthy young adults. Participants were tested in an operation span task in the morning and evening, and during the intertest period, participants experienced either a nap or wake. We measured high-frequency heart rate variability as an index of cardiac, parasympathetic activity during both wake and sleep. Participants showed the expected boost in parasympathetic activity during nap, compared with wake. Furthermore, parasympathetic activity during sleep, but not wake, was significantly correlated with WM improvement. Together, these results indicate that the natural boost in parasympathetic activity during sleep may benefit gains in prefrontal executive function in young adults. We present a conceptual model illustrating the interaction between sleep, autonomic activity, and prefrontal brain function and highlight open research questions that will facilitate understanding of the factors that contribute to executive abilities in young adults as well as in cognitive aging.

Short article: The role of working memory in tactile selective attention

2009 ◽  
Vol 62 (4) ◽  
pp. 635-644 ◽  
Author(s):  
Polly Dalton ◽  
Nilli Lavie ◽  
Charles Spence
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Selective Attention ◽  
Memory Task ◽  
Short Article ◽  
Load Theory ◽  
Low Load ◽  
Irrelevant Distractors ◽  
Tactile Modality ◽  
First Time

Load theory suggests that working memory controls the extent to which irrelevant distractors are processed (e.g., Lavie, Hirst, De Fockert, & Viding, 2004). However, so far this proposal has only been tested in vision. Here, we examine the extent to which tactile selective attention also depends on working memory. In Experiment 1, participants focused their attention on continuous target vibrations while attempting to ignore pulsed distractor vibrations. In Experiment 2, targets were always presented to a particular hand, with distractors being presented to the other hand. In both experiments, a high (vs. low) load in a concurrent working memory task led to greater interference by the tactile distractors. These results establish the role of working memory in the control of tactile selective attention, demonstrating for the first time that the principles of load theory also apply to the tactile modality.

The role of working memory in auditory selective attention

2009 ◽  
Vol 62 (11) ◽  
pp. 2126-2132 ◽  
Author(s):  
Polly Dalton ◽  
Valerio Santangelo ◽  
Charles Spence
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Selective Attention ◽  
Auditory Selective Attention

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.

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