Automatic Prioritization of Self-Referential Stimuli in Working Memory

People preferentially attend to external stimuli that are related to themselves compared with others. Whether a similar self-reference bias applies to internal representations, such as those maintained in working memory (WM), is presently unknown. We tested this possibility in four experiments, in which participants were first trained to associate social labels (self, friend, stranger) with arbitrary colors and then performed a delayed match-to-sample spatial WM task on color locations. Participants consistently responded fastest to WM probes at locations of self-associated colors (Experiments 1–4). This self-bias was driven not by differential exogenous attention during encoding or retrieval (Experiments 1 and 2) but by internal attentional prioritization of self-related representations during WM maintenance (Experiment 3). Moreover, self-prioritization in WM was nonstrategic, as this bias persisted even under conditions in which it hurt WM performance. These findings document an automatic prioritization of self-referential items in WM, which may form the basis of some egocentric biases in decision making.

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Goal-directed and stimulus-driven selection of internal representations

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences ◽

10.1073/pnas.2013432117 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 117 (39) ◽

pp. 24590-24598

Author(s):

Freek van Ede ◽

Alexander G. Board ◽

Anna C. Nobre

Keyword(s):

Working Memory ◽

Feature Matching ◽

Memory Performance ◽

Sensory Information ◽

Internal Representations ◽

Memory Representations ◽

External Stimuli ◽

Selection Of ◽

Do So

Adaptive behavior relies on the selection of relevant sensory information from both the external environment and internal memory representations. In understanding external selection, a classic distinction is made between voluntary (goal-directed) and involuntary (stimulus-driven) guidance of attention. We have developed a task—the anti-retrocue task—to separate and examine voluntary and involuntary guidance of attention to internal representations in visual working memory. We show that both voluntary and involuntary factors influence memory performance but do so in distinct ways. Moreover, by tracking gaze biases linked to attentional focusing in memory, we provide direct evidence for an involuntary “retro-capture” effect whereby external stimuli involuntarily trigger the selection of feature-matching internal representations. We show that stimulus-driven and goal-directed influences compete for selection in memory, and that the balance of this competition—as reflected in oculomotor signatures of internal attention—predicts the quality of ensuing memory-guided behavior. Thus, goal-directed and stimulus-driven factors together determine the fate not only of perception, but also of internal representations in working memory.

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Neural Representation of Working Memory Content Is Modulated by Visual Attentional Demand

Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience ◽

10.1162/jocn_a_01174 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 29 (12) ◽

pp. 2011-2024 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Anastasia Kiyonaga ◽

Emma Wu Dowd ◽

Tobias Egner

Keyword(s):

Working Memory ◽

Visual Search ◽

Neural Representation ◽

Attentional Demands ◽

Sensory Stimuli ◽

Match To Sample ◽

Related Information ◽

Behavioral Studies ◽

Cortical Regions ◽

External Stimuli

Recent theories assert that visual working memory (WM) relies on the same attentional resources and sensory substrates as visual attention to external stimuli. Behavioral studies have observed competitive tradeoffs between internal (i.e., WM) and external (i.e., visual) attentional demands, and neuroimaging studies have revealed representations of WM content as distributed patterns of activity within the same cortical regions engaged by perception of that content. Although a key function of WM is to protect memoranda from competing input, it remains unknown how neural representations of WM content are impacted by incoming sensory stimuli and concurrent attentional demands. Here, we investigated how neural evidence for WM information is affected when attention is occupied by visual search—at varying levels of difficulty—during the delay interval of a WM match-to-sample task. Behavioral and fMRI analyses suggested that WM maintenance was impacted by the difficulty of a concurrent visual task. Critically, multivariate classification analyses of category-specific ventral visual areas revealed a reduction in decodable WM-related information when attention was diverted to a visual search task, especially when the search was more difficult. This study suggests that the amount of available attention during WM maintenance influences the detection of sensory WM representations.

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The Working Memory Stroop Effect: When Internal Representations Clash With External Stimuli

Psychological Science ◽

10.1177/0956797614536739 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 25 (8) ◽

pp. 1619-1629 ◽

Cited By ~ 28

Author(s):

Anastasia Kiyonaga ◽

Tobias Egner

Keyword(s):

Working Memory ◽

Stroop Effect ◽

Internal Representations ◽

External Stimuli

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Discerning cognitive stages in a working memory and decision making task from human fMRI data using multivariate time series analysis

Frontiers in Computational Neuroscience ◽

10.3389/conf.fncom.2012.55.00228 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 6 ◽

Author(s):

Durstewitz Daniel

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

Working Memory ◽

Time Series ◽

Time Series Analysis ◽

Multivariate Time Series ◽

Fmri Data ◽

Series Analysis ◽

Multivariate Time Series Analysis

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Cognitive Control of Working Memory: A Model-Based Approach

Brain Sciences ◽

10.3390/brainsci11060721 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (6) ◽

pp. 721

Author(s):

Russell J. Boag ◽

Niek Stevenson ◽

Roel van Dooren ◽

Anne C. Trutti ◽

Zsuzsika Sjoerds ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

Working Memory ◽

Cognitive Control ◽

Relevant Information ◽

Decision Time ◽

Control Processes ◽

Prepotent Response ◽

New Information ◽

Empirical Performance ◽

Flow Of Information

Working memory (WM)-based decision making depends on a number of cognitive control processes that control the flow of information into and out of WM and ensure that only relevant information is held active in WM’s limited-capacity store. Although necessary for successful decision making, recent work has shown that these control processes impose performance costs on both the speed and accuracy of WM-based decisions. Using the reference-back task as a benchmark measure of WM control, we conducted evidence accumulation modeling to test several competing explanations for six benchmark empirical performance costs. Costs were driven by a combination of processes, running outside of the decision stage (longer non-decision time) and showing the inhibition of the prepotent response (lower drift rates) in trials requiring WM control. Individuals also set more cautious response thresholds when expecting to update WM with new information versus maintain existing information. We discuss the promise of this approach for understanding cognitive control in WM-based decision making.

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From cognitive to neural models of working memory

Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences ◽

10.1098/rstb.2007.2086 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 362 (1481) ◽

pp. 761-772 ◽

Cited By ~ 451

Author(s):

Mark D'Esposito

Keyword(s):

Working Memory ◽

Functional Neuroimaging ◽

Empirical Studies ◽

Brain Regions ◽

Cognitive Models ◽

Neural Mechanisms ◽

Long Term Memory ◽

Cognitive Mechanisms ◽

Internal Representations ◽

Active Maintenance

Working memory refers to the temporary retention of information that was just experienced or just retrieved from long-term memory but no longer exists in the external environment. These internal representations are short-lived, but can be stored for longer periods of time through active maintenance or rehearsal strategies, and can be subjected to various operations that manipulate the information in such a way that makes it useful for goal-directed behaviour. Empirical studies of working memory using neuroscientific techniques, such as neuronal recordings in monkeys or functional neuroimaging in humans, have advanced our knowledge of the underlying neural mechanisms of working memory. This rich dataset can be reconciled with behavioural findings derived from investigating the cognitive mechanisms underlying working memory. In this paper, I review the progress that has been made towards this effort by illustrating how investigations of the neural mechanisms underlying working memory can be influenced by cognitive models and, in turn, how cognitive models can be shaped and modified by neuroscientific data. One conclusion that arises from this research is that working memory can be viewed as neither a unitary nor a dedicated system. A network of brain regions, including the prefrontal cortex (PFC), is critical for the active maintenance of internal representations that are necessary for goal-directed behaviour. Thus, working memory is not localized to a single brain region but probably is an emergent property of the functional interactions between the PFC and the rest of the brain.

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The Effect of Single Bout of Acute Exercise on Working Memory Performance

Birat Journal of Health Sciences ◽

10.3126/bjhs.v3i2.20966 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 3 (2) ◽

pp. 484-487

Author(s):

Santosh Kumar Deo ◽

Kopila Agrawal ◽

Prem Bhattrai ◽

Raju Kumar Chaudhary

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

Working Memory ◽

Acute Exercise ◽

Test Procedure ◽

Step Test ◽

Moderate Intensity ◽

Exercise Session ◽

Moderate Intensity Exercise ◽

Single Bout ◽

Back Task

Introduction: Working memory is a kind of short term memory important for reasoning and guiding decision-making and behavioral process.Objective: The goal of the present research was to study the outcome of single bout of acute moderate-intensity exercise on working memory.Methodology: Twenty two male subjects were asked to perform working memory task by 2n back task in baseline resting, immediately after exercise and after five minute of exercise session. 3 minute step test procedure was used as a moderate intensity exercise intervention.Results: The percentage correctness of 2n back task of working memory was found to be 64.36% for baseline resting condition, 78.01 % for immediately after 3-minute step test and 80.70% for 5 minute after the exercise. In both exercise session (i.e. immediately after exercise and after 5 minute of exercise), significant improvement (p value <0.05) in working memory was seen as compared to the baseline resting session while no such significant beneficial improvement was seen when compared between immediately after exercise and after 5 minute of exercise.Conclusion: Improvement in working memory after moderate exercise intervention was seen, which is important for learning and memory and decision-making. BJHS 2018;3(2)6:484-487.

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