All rights reserved.”
“Memory and attention interact. Information held in working memory
(WM) can bias visual selection toward matching stimuli in a subsequent search display, while a search target that is different from the memory stimulus can interfere with its subsequent recognition. In recent fMRI studies, the pulvinar has been consistently shown to have an enhanced response when an item in WM matches OTX015 cell line a search target and a reduced response when the WM item matches a distracter in search. Here we used Granger causality analysis to help understand the role of the pulvinar in resolving competition between memory and selection processes. Across three experiments the results showed increased coupling between the pulvinar and the ipsilateral superior frontal gyrus, contralateral temporal-parietal junction (TPJ) and calcarine sulcus when a visual search distracter
matched the item held in memory. This connection pattern suggests that the pulvinar suppresses visual responses to the target when a contralateral distracter contains information held in working memory. We GW4064 propose that this suppression acts to protect the memory item from interference arising from information associated with the search target. Consistent with this proposal we showed that the strength of the thalamus-to-visual connection predicted performance on a subsequent memory test. The data therefore suggest that the thalamus modulates bottom up processing in sensory cortex to minimize interference to WM content. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.”
“Previous work has shown that distractors present in a visual search display attract attention when they match objects kept in visual working memory. It seems that maintaining an object in working memory is functionally identical to adopting an attentional set for that object. We test this conjecture by asking observers to perform a memory task as well as a visual search task (in which memory-related distractors could return), but to leave the observer uncertain as to which of these tasks would have to be completed first. This way, observers ought to more readily
look for the memorized information, rather than just remember it. Memory-related distractor effects Liproxstatin-1 cost were larger than when participants knew the order of the tasks beforehand, consistent with the idea that trying to attend to something involves additional processes or representations beyond those needed for simply storing an item. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.”
“People often rely on information that is no longer in view, but maintained in visual short-term memory (VSTM). Traditionally, VSTM is thought to operate on either a short time-scale with high capacity – iconic memory – or a long time scale with small capacity – visual working memory. Recent research suggests that in addition, an intermediate stage of memory in between iconic memory and visual working memory exists.