Temporal Characteristics of Top-Down Modulations during Working Memory Maintenance: An Event-related Potential Study of the N170 Component

2007 ◽  
Vol 19 (11) ◽  
pp. 1836-1844 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kartik K. Sreenivasan ◽  
Jennifer Katz ◽  
Amishi P. Jha
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Recognition Task ◽  
Event Related Potential ◽  
Perceptual Processing ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Domain Specific ◽  
N170 Component ◽  
Delay Duration ◽  
The Face ◽  
Delayed Recognition

We investigated the top-down influence of working memory (WM) maintenance on feedforward perceptual processing within occipito-temporal face processing structures. During event-related potential (ERP) recordings, subjects performed a delayed-recognition task requiring WM maintenance of faces or houses. The face-sensitive N170 component elicited by delay-spanning task-irrelevant grayscale noise probes was examined. If early feedforward perceptual activity is biased by maintenance requirements, the N170 ERP component elicited by probes should have a greater N170 amplitude response during face relative to house WM trials. Consistent with this prediction, N170 elicited by probes presented at the beginning, middle, and end of the delay interval was greater in amplitude during face relative to house WM. Thus, these results suggest that WM maintenance demands may modulate early feedforward perceptual processing for the entirety of the delay duration. We argue based on these results that temporally early biasing of domain-specific perceptual processing may be a critical mechanism by which WM maintenance is achieved.

scholarly journals Selective Involvement of Superior Frontal Cortex During Working Memory for Shapes

2010 ◽  
Vol 103 (1) ◽  
pp. 557-563 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lydia T. S. Yee ◽  
Katherine Roe ◽  
Susan M. Courtney
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Frontal Cortex ◽  
Recognition Task ◽  
Occipital Cortex ◽  
Visual Pathways ◽  
Domain Specific ◽  
Perceptual Recognition ◽  
Ventral Pathway ◽  
Delayed Recognition ◽  
Superior Frontal Cortex

A spatial/nonspatial functional dissociation between the dorsal and ventral visual pathways is well established and has formed the basis of domain-specific theories of prefrontal cortex (PFC). Inconsistencies in the literature regarding prefrontal organization, however, have led to questions regarding whether the nature of the dissociations observed in PFC during working memory are equivalent to those observed in the visual pathways for perception. In particular, the dissociation between dorsal and ventral PFC during working memory for locations versus object identities has been clearly present in some studies but not in others, seemingly in part due to the type of objects used. The current study compared functional MRI activation during delayed-recognition tasks for shape or color, two object features considered to be processed by the ventral pathway for perceptual recognition. Activation for the shape-delayed recognition task was greater than that for the color task in the lateral occipital cortex, in agreement with studies of visual perception. Greater memory-delay activity was also observed, however, in the parietal and superior frontal cortices for the shape than for the color task. Activity in superior frontal cortex was associated with better performance on the shape task. Conversely, greater delay activity for color than for shape was observed in the left anterior insula and this activity was associated with better performance on the color task. These results suggest that superior frontal cortex contributes to performance on tasks requiring working memory for object identities, but it represents different information about those objects than does the ventral frontal cortex.

Selective Attention Supports Working Memory Maintenance by Modulating Perceptual Processing of Distractors

2007 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 32-41 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kartik K. Sreenivasan ◽  
Amishi P. Jha
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Selective Attention ◽  
Sensory Processing ◽  
Recognition Task ◽  
Event Related Potentials ◽  
Perceptual Processing ◽  
Distractor Processing ◽  
Information Event ◽  
Related Potentials ◽  
Delayed Recognition

Selective attention has been shown to bias sensory processing in favor of relevant stimuli and against irrelevant or distracting stimuli in perceptual tasks. Increasing evidence suggests that selective attention plays an important role during working memory maintenance, possibly by biasing sensory processing in favor of to-be-remembered items. In the current study, we investigated whether selective attention may also support working memory by biasing processing against irrelevant and potentially distracting information. Event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded while subjects (n = 22) performed a delayed-recognition task for faces and shoes. The delay period was filled with face or shoe distractors. Behavioral performance was impaired when distractors were congruent with the working memory domain (e.g., face distractor during working memory for faces) relative to when distractors were incongruent with the working memory domain (e.g., face distractor during shoe working memory). If attentional biasing against distractor processing is indeed functionally relevant in supporting working memory maintenance, perceptual processing of distractors is predicted to be attenuated when distractors are more behaviorally intrusive relative to when they are nonintrusive. As such, we predicted that perceptual processing of distracting faces, as measured by the face-sensitive N170 ERP component, would be reduced in the context of congruent (face) working memory relative to incongruent (shoe) working memory. The N170 elicited by distracting faces demonstrated reduced amplitude during congruent versus incongruent working memory. These results suggest that perceptual processing of distracting faces may be attenuated due to attentional biasing against sensory processing of distractors that are most behaviorally intrusive during working memory maintenance.

scholarly journals Early Top–Down Control of Visual Processing Predicts Working Memory Performance

2010 ◽  
Vol 22 (6) ◽  
pp. 1224-1234 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aaron M. Rutman ◽  
Wesley C. Clapp ◽  
James Z. Chadick ◽  
Adam Gazzaley
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Selective Attention ◽  
Visual Processing ◽  
Temporal Dynamics ◽  
Memory Performance ◽  
Event Related Potential ◽  
Natural Scenes ◽  
Attention And Memory ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Sensory Neural

Selective attention confers a behavioral benefit on both perceptual and working memory (WM) performance, often attributed to top–down modulation of sensory neural processing. However, the direct relationship between early activity modulation in sensory cortices during selective encoding and subsequent WM performance has not been established. To explore the influence of selective attention on WM recognition, we used electroencephalography to study the temporal dynamics of top–down modulation in a selective, delayed-recognition paradigm. Participants were presented with overlapped, “double-exposed” images of faces and natural scenes, and were instructed to either remember the face or the scene while simultaneously ignoring the other stimulus. Here, we present evidence that the degree to which participants modulate the early P100 (97–129 msec) event-related potential during selective stimulus encoding significantly correlates with their subsequent WM recognition. These results contribute to our evolving understanding of the mechanistic overlap between attention and memory.

scholarly journals Looking at my own Face: Visual Processing Strategies in Physical Self-representation

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anya Chakraborty ◽  
Bhismadev Chakrabarti
Keyword(s):  
Face Recognition ◽  
Eye Tracking ◽  
Visual Processing ◽  
Recognition Task ◽  
Autistic Traits ◽  
Self And Other ◽  
Domain Specific ◽  
Processing Strategies ◽  
The Face ◽  
Specific Association

AbstractWe live in an age of ‘selfies’. Yet, how we look at our own faces has seldom been systematically investigated. In this study we test if visual processing of self-faces is different from other faces, using psychophysics and eye-tracking. Specifically, the association between the psychophysical properties of self-face representation and visual processing strategies involved in self-face recognition was tested. Thirty-three adults performed a self-face recognition task from a series of self-other face morphs with simultaneous eye-tracking. Participants were found to look at lower part of the face for longer duration for self-face compared to other-face. Participants with a reduced overlap between self and other face representations, as indexed by a steeper slope of the psychometric response curve for self-face recognition, spent a greater proportion of time looking at the upper regions of faces identified as self. Additionally, the association of autism-related traits with self-face processing metrics was tested, since autism has previously been associated with atypical self-processing, particularly in the psychological domain. Autistic traits were associated with reduced looking time to both self and other faces. However, no self-face specific association was noted with autistic traits, suggesting that autism-related features may be related to self-processing in a domain specific manner.

Specific and Nonspecific Neural Activity during Selective Processing of Visual Representations in Working Memory

2010 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 292-306 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hwamee Oh ◽  
Hoi-Chung Leung
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Neural Activity ◽  
Visual Information ◽  
Posterior Parietal Cortex ◽  
Parietal Lobe ◽  
Response Times ◽  
Temporal Cortex ◽  
Recognition Task ◽  
Delay Period ◽  
The Face

In this fMRI study, we investigated prefrontal cortex (PFC) and visual association regions during selective information processing. We recorded behavioral responses and neural activity during a delayed recognition task with a cue presented during the delay period. A specific cue (“Face” or “Scene”) was used to indicate which one of the two initially viewed pictures of a face and a scene would be tested at the end of a trial, whereas a nonspecific cue (“Both”) was used as control. As expected, the specific cues facilitated behavioral performance (faster response times) compared to the nonspecific cue. A postexperiment memory test showed that the items cued to remember were better recognized than those not cued. The fMRI results showed largely overlapped activations across the three cue conditions in dorsolateral and ventrolateral PFC, dorsomedial PFC, posterior parietal cortex, ventral occipito-temporal cortex, dorsal striatum, and pulvinar nucleus. Among those regions, dorsomedial PFC and inferior occipital gyrus remained active during the entire postcue delay period. Differential activity was mainly found in the association cortices. In particular, the parahippocampal area and posterior superior parietal lobe showed significantly enhanced activity during the postcue period of the scene condition relative to the Face and Both conditions. No regions showed differentially greater responses to the face cue. Our findings suggest that a better representation of visual information in working memory may depend on enhancing the more specialized visual association areas or their interaction with PFC.

scholarly journals Spontaneous but not voluntary eye blinks during spatial working memory are associated with successful performance

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew S. Lee ◽  
Baaba K. Blankson ◽  
Peter Manza ◽  
Jonathan F. O’Rawe ◽  
Craig Evinger ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Temporal Dynamics ◽  
Spatial Working Memory ◽  
Recognition Task ◽  
Blink Rate ◽  
Behavioral Experiments ◽  
Eye Blinks ◽  
Recognition Probe ◽  
Delayed Recognition ◽  
The Relationship

AbstractSpontaneous eye blink rate (SBR) has been associated with central dopamine (DA) levels, raising the intriguing possibility that SBR is related to cognitive functions dependent on DA, such as spatial working memory (WM). We tested this hypothesis in two behavioral experiments, examining the relationship between SBR, WM load and individual differences in spatial WM performance in 126 young adults. In Experiment 1, we examined the temporal profile of SBR during a spatial delayed recognition task requiring maintenance of 1, 2, 4, 6 or 7 dot locations. We observed a suppression in SBR during dot- and recognition probe-presentation, and a significant increase in SBR afterwards. High performers showed significantly lower SBR than low performers during the first 500 ms of the delay period. In Experiment 2, we used a similar spatial WM task as Experiment 1 to test whether an instructed voluntary blink during the early delay would directly dampen WM performance. While the temporal dynamics of SBR across task events were comparable to Experiment 1, WM performance was not significantly different between the voluntary blink and no blink conditions. Together, these results suggest that spontaneous but not voluntary eye blinking is closely linked to spatial WM, and that lower SBR during WM encoding and early phase of maintenance is associated with better WM task performance.

scholarly journals The Dorsal Attention Network Reflects Both Encoding Load and Top–down Control during Working Memory

2018 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 144-159 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steve Majerus ◽  
Frédéric Péters ◽  
Marion Bouffier ◽  
Nelson Cowan ◽  
Christophe Phillips
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Recognition Task ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Sensory Stimuli ◽  
Attention Network ◽  
Large Sets ◽  
Dorsal Attention Network ◽  
Memory Control ◽  
And Control

The dorsal attention network is consistently involved in verbal and visual working memory (WM) tasks and has been associated with task-related, top–down control of attention. At the same time, WM capacity has been shown to depend on the amount of information that can be encoded in the focus of attention independently of top–down strategic control. We examined the role of the dorsal attention network in encoding load and top–down memory control during WM by manipulating encoding load and memory control requirements during a short-term probe recognition task for sequences of auditory (digits, letters) or visual (lines, unfamiliar faces) stimuli. Encoding load was manipulated by presenting sequences with small or large sets of memoranda while maintaining the amount of sensory stimuli constant. Top–down control was manipulated by instructing participants to passively maintain all stimuli or to selectively maintain stimuli from a predefined category. By using ROI and searchlight multivariate analysis strategies, we observed that the dorsal attention network encoded information for both load and control conditions in verbal and visuospatial modalities. Decoding of load conditions was in addition observed in modality-specific sensory cortices. These results highlight the complexity of the role of the dorsal attention network in WM by showing that this network supports both quantitative and qualitative aspects of attention during WM encoding, and this is in a partially modality-specific manner.

scholarly journals Face Recognition Deficits in a Patient With Alzheimer's Disease: Amnesia or Agnosia? The Importance of Electrophysiological Markers for Differential Diagnosis

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chiara Mazzi ◽  
Gloria Massironi ◽  
Javier Sanchez-Lopez ◽  
Laura De Togni ◽  
Silvia Savazzi
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Face Recognition ◽  
Stimulus Presentation ◽  
Integrated Approach ◽  
Event Related Potential ◽  
Control Group ◽  
N170 Component ◽  
The Face ◽  
N400 Component

Face recognition deficits are frequently reported in Alzheimer's disease (AD) and often attributed to memory impairment. However, it has been hypothesized that failure in identifying familiar people could also be due to deficits in higher-level perceptual processes, since there is evidence showing a reduced inversion effect for faces but not for cars in AD. To address the involvement of these higher processes, we investigated event-related potential (ERP) neural correlates of faces in a patient with AD showing a face recognition deficit. Eight healthy participants were tested as a control group. Participants performed different tasks following the stimulus presentation. In experiment 1, they should indicate whether the stimulus was either a face or a house or a scrambled image. In experiments 2 and 3, they should discriminate between upright and inverted faces (in experiment 2, stimuli were faces with neutral or fearful expressions, while in experiment 3, stimuli were famous or unfamiliar faces). Electrophysiological results reveal that the typical face-specific modulation of the N170 component, which is thought to reflect the structural encoding of faces, was not present in patient MCG, despite being affected by the emotional content of the face implicitly processed by MCG. Conversely, the N400 component, which is thought to reflect the recruitment of the memory trace of the face identity, was found to be implicitly modulated in MCG. These results may identify a possible role for gnosic processes in face recognition deficits in AD and suggest the importance of adopting an integrated approach to the AD diagnosis while considering electrophysiological markers.

Is the Prefrontal Cortex Necessary for Delay Task Performance? Evidence from Lesion and fMRI Data

2006 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 248-260 ◽  
Author(s):  
MARK D'ESPOSITO ◽  
JEFFREY W. COONEY ◽  
ADAM GAZZALEY ◽  
SASHA E.B. GIBBS ◽  
BRADLEY R. POSTLE
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Prefrontal Cortex ◽  
Recovery Of Function ◽  
Memory Function ◽  
Recognition Task ◽  
Verbal Working Memory ◽  
Delay Task ◽  
Young Subjects ◽  
Delayed Recognition ◽  
Storage Processes

Although the prefrontal cortex (PFC) is consistently found to be associated with various working memory processes, the necessity of the PFC for such processes remains unclear. To elucidate PFC contributions to storage and rehearsal/maintenance processes engaged during verbal working memory function, we assessed behavior of patients with lesions to the left or right lateral PFC, and neural activity of healthy young subjects during fMRI scanning, during performance of working memory tasks. We found that PFC lesions did not affect storage processes—which is consistent with the notion that posterior cortical networks can support simple retention of information. We also found that PFC lesions did not affect rehearsal/maintenance processes, which was in contrast to our finding that healthy subjects performing a verbal delayed recognition task showed bilateral PFC activation. These combined imaging and behavioral data suggest that working memory rehearsal/maintenance processes may depend on both hemispheres, which may have implications for recovery of function and development of rehabilitation therapies after frontal injury. (JINS, 2006, 12, 248–260.)

scholarly journals Neural processing of working memory in adults with ADHD in a visuospatial change detection task with distractors

PeerJ ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. e5601 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chao Gu ◽  
Zhong-Xu Liu ◽  
Rosemary Tannock ◽  
Steven Woltering
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Change Detection ◽  
Memory Load ◽  
Detection Task ◽  
Event Related Potential ◽  
Neural Processing ◽  
Change Detection Task ◽  
Processing Efficiency ◽  
The Face ◽  
Underlying Mechanisms

Individuals with Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) are often characterized by deficits in working memory (WM), which manifest in academic, professional, and mental health difficulties. To better understand the underlying mechanisms of these presumed WM deficits, we compared adults with ADHD to their peers on behavioral and neural indices of WM. We used a visuospatial change detection task with distractors which was designed to assess the brain’s ability to effectively filter out distractors from WM, in addition to testing for effects of WM load. Twenty-seven unmedicated adults with ADHD were compared to 27 matched peers on event-related potential (ERP) measures of WM, i.e., the contralateral delay activity (CDA). Despite severe impairments in everyday life functioning, findings showed no difference in deficits in behavioral tests of working memory for adults with ADHD compared to their peers. Interestingly, there were differences in neural activity between individuals with ADHD and their peers showing that the CDA of individuals with ADHD did not distinguish between high, distractor, and low memory load conditions. These data suggest, in the face of comparable behavioral performance, a difference in neural processing efficiency, wherein the brains of individuals with ADHD may not be as selective in the allocation of neural resources to perform a WM task.

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