scholarly journals Why does the probe value effect emerge in working memory? Examining the biased attentional refreshing account

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amy Louise Atkinson ◽  
Klaus Oberauer ◽  
Richard John Allen ◽  
Alessandra S. Souza
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Spatial Location ◽  
The Other ◽  
Color Wheel ◽  
Value Effect

People are able to prioritize more valuable information in working memory. The current study examined whether this value effect is due to the more valuable items being refreshed more frequently or for a longer period of time than the other items during maintenance. To assess this possibility, we combined a probe value manipulation with a guided-refreshing procedure. Arrays of colored shapes were presented, and after a brief delay, participants reported the color of one randomly probed shape on a continuous color wheel. To manipulate probe value, one item was indicated as more valuable than the rest prior to encoding (i.e., worth more notional points), or all items were indicated as equally valuable. To guide refreshing, in some trials, a sequence of two arrows was presented during maintenance, thereby cueing the spatial location of an item. Participants were told to “think of” (i.e., refresh) the cued item. If value boosts are driven by attentional refreshing, cueing an item to be refreshed should enhance performance for items that are of low or equal value, but not items of high value, as these items would be refreshed regardless of the cue. This pattern of outcomes was observed, providing support for the hypothesis that attentional refreshing at least partially accounts for probe-value effects in working memory.

Strategy guides feature recall of a single object in working memory task

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rakesh Sengupta ◽  
Christelle M. lewis
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Memory Task ◽  
Random Order ◽  
Continuous Variable ◽  
The Other ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Single Object ◽  
Recall Accuracy ◽  
Color Wheel ◽  
Recall Error

Over past couple of decades our understanding of visual working memory (VWM), and working memory in general, has been predominantly in line with the capacity debate. We recently opened a new line of inquiry regarding the recall of a single object to go beyond the capacity debate, and showed that a series of feature probe questions about a single object yields poorer recall later in the sequence (Sengupta et al, 2020). In the current work we focused on another aspect of sequential feature recall - mainly regarding whether recall can be improved by asking the same question twice. To that end, we chose to focus on two features - color and location, and we contrasted repeat and non-repeat (from the standpoint of feature questions) trials in a series of two experiments. In repeat trials either color or location would be probed twice consecutively. In non-repeat trials color and location probes were presented one after the other in random order. In all trials the stimulus was a small colored oriented line presented for 1 sec in a location within 4o of visual angle. The recall of color and location were mapped onto continuous variable like Sengupta et al, 2020 - for instance, color recall was mapped onto a color wheel. In the first experiment, we used an unaltered color wheel when the color question was repeated. For the second experiment, we used a rotated color wheels for two consecutive color recall trials. We observed an increase in recall error for both repeat and non-repeat condition for location when the probe was at the second question in both experiments. However, color recall error did not increase for second repeat question condition in Experiment 1 as opposed to the non-repeat condition. On the other hand, in Experiment 2 we observed the expected increase in recall error for both repeat and non repeat condition for color probe at the second question. This maybe due to the fact that participants used an ‘anchoring’ strategy in Experiment 1 by remembering where they clicked on the color wheel in the first question. The rotation of color wheel in second experiment destroys the anchor leading to the aforementioned result. The results show that trying to recall the same feature again leads to degradation of recall accuracy for both color and location, and human beings may use different strategies for recall in working memory tasks.

scholarly journals What does visual suffix interference tell us about spatial location in working memory?

2014 ◽  
Vol 43 (1) ◽  
pp. 133-142 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard J. Allen ◽  
Judit Castellà ◽  
Taiji Ueno ◽  
Graham J. Hitch ◽  
Alan D. Baddeley
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Spatial Location

scholarly journals Temporal Properties of Posterior Parietal Neuron Discharges During Working Memory and Passive Viewing

2007 ◽  
Vol 97 (3) ◽  
pp. 2254-2266 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frederik C. Joelving ◽  
Albert Compte ◽  
Christos Constantinidis
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Posterior Parietal Cortex ◽  
Memory Task ◽  
Power Spectra ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
Spatial Location ◽  
Spike Trains ◽  
Memory Condition ◽  
Temporal Properties ◽  
Posterior Parietal

Working memory is mediated by the discharges of neurons in a distributed network of brain areas. It was recently suggested that enhanced rhythmicity in neuronal activity may be critical for sustaining remembered information. To test whether working memory is characterized by unique temporal discharge patterns, we analyzed the autocorrelograms and power spectra of spike trains recorded from the posterior parietal cortex of monkeys performing a visuospatial working-memory task. We compared the intervals of active memory maintenance and fixation and repeated the same analysis in spike trains from monkeys never trained to perform any kind of memory task. The most salient effect we observed was a decrease of power in the 5- to 10-Hz frequency range during the presentation of visual stimuli. This pattern was observed both in the working-memory condition and the control condition, although it was more prominent in the former, where it persisted after cue presentation when the monkeys actively remembered the spatial location of the stimulus. Low-frequency power suppression resulted from relative refractory periods that were significantly longer in the working-memory condition and presumably emerged from local-circuit inhibition. We also detected a spectral peak in the 15- to 20-Hz range, although this was more prominent during fixation than during the stimulus and working-memory periods. Our results are in line with previous reports in prefrontal cortex and indicate that unique temporal patterns of single-neuron firing characterize persistent delay activity, although these do not involve the appearance of enhanced oscillations.

Investigating the other-race effect in working memory

2018 ◽  
Vol 109 (4) ◽  
pp. 777-798 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marleen Stelter ◽  
Juliane Degner
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
The Other ◽  
Race Effect

Spatial representations of self and other in the hippocampus

Science ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 359 (6372) ◽  
pp. 213-218 ◽  
Author(s):  
Teruko Danjo ◽  
Taro Toyoizumi ◽  
Shigeyoshi Fujisawa
Keyword(s):  
Receptive Fields ◽  
Pyramidal Cells ◽  
Spatial Location ◽  
The Self ◽  
The Other ◽  
Spatial Representations ◽  
Self And Other ◽  
Ca1 Pyramidal Cells ◽  
Ca1 Region ◽  
Reward Information

An animal’s awareness of its location in space depends on the activity of place cells in the hippocampus. How the brain encodes the spatial position of others has not yet been identified. We investigated neuronal representations of other animals’ locations in the dorsal CA1 region of the hippocampus with an observational T-maze task in which one rat was required to observe another rat’s trajectory to successfully retrieve a reward. Information reflecting the spatial location of both the self and the other was jointly and discretely encoded by CA1 pyramidal cells in the observer rat. A subset of CA1 pyramidal cells exhibited spatial receptive fields that were identical for the self and the other. These findings demonstrate that hippocampal spatial representations include dimensions for both self and nonself.

scholarly journals Efficacy of non-invasive brain stimulation on cognitive functioning in brain disorders: a meta-analysis

2020 ◽  
Vol 50 (15) ◽  
pp. 2465-2486
Author(s):  
Marieke J. Begemann ◽  
Bodyl A. Brand ◽  
Branislava Ćurčić-Blake ◽  
André Aleman ◽  
Iris E. Sommer
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Brain Stimulation ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Verbal Learning ◽  
The Other ◽  
Brain Disorders ◽  
Brain Disorder ◽  
Cognitive Domains ◽  
Domain Specific ◽  
Non Invasive

AbstractBackgroundCognition is commonly affected in brain disorders. Non-invasive brain stimulation (NIBS) may have procognitive effects, with high tolerability. This meta-analysis evaluates the efficacy of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) in improving cognition, in schizophrenia, depression, dementia, Parkinson's disease, stroke, traumatic brain injury, and multiple sclerosis.MethodsA PRISMA systematic search was conducted for randomized controlled trials. Hedges' g was used to quantify effect sizes (ES) for changes in cognition after TMS/tDCS v. sham. As different cognitive functions may have unequal susceptibility to TMS/tDCS, we separately evaluated the effects on: attention/vigilance, working memory, executive functioning, processing speed, verbal fluency, verbal learning, and social cognition.ResultsWe included 82 studies (n = 2784). For working memory, both TMS (ES = 0.17, p = 0.015) and tDCS (ES = 0.17, p = 0.021) showed small but significant effects. Age positively moderated the effect of TMS. TDCS was superior to sham for attention/vigilance (ES = 0.20, p = 0.020). These significant effects did not differ across the type of brain disorder. Results were not significant for the other five cognitive domains.ConclusionsOur results revealed that both TMS and tDCS elicit a small trans-diagnostic effect on working memory, tDCS also improved attention/vigilance across diagnoses. Effects on the other domains were not significant. Observed ES were small, yet even slight cognitive improvements may facilitate daily functioning. While NIBS can be a well-tolerated treatment, its effects appear domain specific and should be applied only for realistic indications (i.e. to induce a small improvement in working memory or attention).

Working Memory and Facial Expression Recognition in Patients with Parkinson’s Disease

2014 ◽  
Vol 20 (5) ◽  
pp. 496-505 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura Alonso-Recio ◽  
Pilar Martín-Plasencia ◽  
Ángela Loeches-Alonso ◽  
Juan M. Serrano-Rodríguez
Keyword(s):  
Parkinson’S Disease ◽  
Working Memory ◽  
Parkinson's Disease ◽  
Facial Expression ◽  
Facial Expression Recognition ◽  
Spatial Location ◽  
Expression Recognition ◽  
Emotional Facial Expression ◽  
Emotional Facial Expressions ◽  
Spatial Locations

AbstractFacial expression recognition impairment has been reported in Parkinson’s disease. While some authors have referred to specific emotional disabilities, others view them as secondary to executive deficits frequently described in the disease, such as working memory. The present study aims to analyze the relationship between working memory and facial expression recognition abilities in Parkinson’s disease. We observed 50 patients with Parkinson’s disease and 49 healthy controls by means of an n-back procedure with four types of stimuli: emotional facial expressions, gender, spatial locations, and non-sense syllables. Other executive and visuospatial neuropsychological tests were also administered. Results showed that Parkinson’s disease patients with high levels of disability performed worse than healthy individuals on the emotional facial expression and spatial location tasks. Moreover, spatial location task performance was correlated with executive neuropsychological scores, but emotional facial expression was not. Thus, working memory seems to be altered in Parkinson’s disease, particularly in tasks that involve the appreciation of spatial relationships in stimuli. Additionally, non-executive, facial emotional recognition difficulty seems to be present and related to disease progression. (JINS, 2014, 20, 1–10)

Modality-specific auditory and visual temporal processing deficits

2002 ◽  
Vol 55 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-40 ◽  
Author(s):  
Salvador Soto-Faraco ◽  
Charles Spence
Keyword(s):  
Attentional Blink ◽  
Temporal Processing ◽  
Spatial Location ◽  
Visual Presentation ◽  
Attentional Selection ◽  
The Other ◽  
Repetition Blindness ◽  
Presentation Procedure ◽  
Selection Stage ◽  
Lag 1 Sparing

We studied the attentional blink (AB) and the repetition blindness (RB) effects using an audio-visual presentation procedure designed to overcome several potential methodological confounds in previous cross-modal research. In Experiment 1, two target digits were embedded amongst letter distractors in two concurrent streams (one visual and the other auditory) presented from the same spatial location. Targets appeared in either modality unpredictably at different temporal lags, and the participants’ task was to recall the digits at the end of the trial. We evaluated both AB and RB for pairs of targets presented in either the same or different modalities. Under these conditions both AB and RB were observed in vision, AB but not RB was observed in audition, and there was no evidence of AB or RB cross-modally from audition to vision or vice versa. In Experiment 2, we further investigated the AB by including Lag 1 items and observed Lag 1 sparing, thus ruling out the possibility that the observed effects were due to perceptual and/or conceptual masking. Our results support a distinction between a modality-specific interference at the attentional selection stage and a modality-independent interference at later processing stages. They also provide a new dissociation between the AB and RB.

Working Memory Within The Visual Dorsal Stream: Brain Potentials of Spatial Location and Motion Direction Encoding Into Memory

1998 ◽  
Vol 96 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 87-105 ◽  
Author(s):  
Manuel Martín-Loeches ◽  
Berenice Valdés ◽  
Gregorio Gómez-Jarabo ◽  
Francisco J. Rubia
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Dorsal Stream ◽  
Spatial Location ◽  
Motion Direction ◽  
Brain Potentials

How Accurately Can an Observer Assess Participant Self-Reported Workload?

2017 ◽  
Vol 61 (1) ◽  
pp. 1486-1487 ◽  
Author(s):  
Logan T. Hale ◽  
Preston A. Long
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Human Factors ◽  
Mental Workload ◽  
The Other ◽  
Subjective Workload ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Nasa Tlx ◽  
The One ◽  
Task Types

Subjective workload assessments are used often in human factors, almost always from the perspective of the one performing the task. How well would an observer or experimenter be able to subjectively rate the mental workload of a task being performed by a subject? In this experiment, participants formed groups of two in which one acted as an experimenter and the other as a subject. The experimenter administered three types of distractor tasks to the subject while the subject held a consonant triad in their working memory. The three tasks were a high difficulty task (counting), a medium difficulty task (writing), and a low difficulty task (drawing). Both experimenter and subject then filled out a NASA-TLX for all three task types. Roles were switched and the process repeated. Significant differences in rating were found for the high difficulty but not the low difficulty task, with the medium difficulty task in between.

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