Retro-dimension-cue benefit in visual working memory

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Abstract

In visual working memory (VWM) tasks, participants’ performance can be improved by a retro-object-cue. However, previous studies have not investigated whether participants’ performance can also be improved by a retro-dimension-cue. Three experiments investigated this issue. We used a recall task with a retro-dimension-cue in all experiments. In Experiment 1, we found benefits from retro-dimension-cues compared to neutral cues. This retro-dimension-cue benefit is reflected in an increased probability of reporting the target, but not in the probability of reporting the non-target, as well as increased precision with which this item is remembered. Experiment 2 replicated the retro-dimension-cue benefit and showed that the length of the blank interval after the cue disappeared did not influence recall performance. Experiment 3 replicated the results of Experiment 2 with a lower memory load. Our studies provide evidence that there is a robust retro-dimension-cue benefit in VWM. Participants can use internal attention to flexibly allocate cognitive resources to a particular dimension of memory representations. The results also support the feature-based storing hypothesis.

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Load theory of selective attention and cognitive control.

Nilli Lavie, Aleksandra Hirst, Jan de Fockert … (2004)

A load theory of attention in which distractor rejection depends on the level and type of load involved in current processing was tested. A series of experiments demonstrates that whereas high perceptual load reduces distractor interference, working memory load or dual-task coordination load increases distractor interference. These findings suggest 2 selective attention mechanisms: a perceptual selection mechanism serving to reduce distractor perception in situations of high perceptual load that exhaust perceptual capacity in processing relevant stimuli and a cognitive control mechanism that reduces interference from perceived distractors as long as cognitive control functions are available to maintain current priorities (low cognitive load). This theory resolves the long-standing early versus late selection debate and clarifies the role of cognitive control in selective attention. ((c) 2004 APA, all rights reserved)

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Visual working memory capacity: from psychophysics and neurobiology to individual differences.

Steven J. Luck, Edward K. Vogel (2013)

Visual working memory capacity is of great interest because it is strongly correlated with overall cognitive ability, can be understood at the level of neural circuits, and is easily measured. Recent studies have shown that capacity influences tasks ranging from saccade targeting to analogical reasoning. A debate has arisen over whether capacity is constrained by a limited number of discrete representations or by an infinitely divisible resource, but the empirical evidence and neural network models currently favor a discrete item limit. Capacity differs markedly across individuals and groups, and recent research indicates that some of these differences reflect true differences in storage capacity whereas others reflect variations in the ability to use memory capacity efficiently. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

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The precision of visual working memory is set by allocation of a shared resource.

Paul Bays, Raquel F G Catalao, Masud Husain (2009)

The mechanisms underlying visual working memory have recently become controversial. One account proposes a small number of memory "slots," each capable of storing a single visual object with fixed precision. A contrary view holds that working memory is a shared resource, with no upper limit on the number of items stored; instead, the more items that are held in memory, the less precisely each can be recalled. Recent findings from a color report task have been taken as crucial new evidence in favor of the slot model. However, while this task has previously been thought of as a simple test of memory for color, here we show that performance also critically depends on memory for location. When errors in memory are considered for both color and location, performance on this task is in fact well explained by the resource model. These results demonstrate that visual working memory consists of a common resource distributed dynamically across the visual scene, with no need to invoke an upper limit on the number of objects represented.

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Author and article information

Journal

Journal ID (nlm-ta): Sci Rep

Journal ID (iso-abbrev): Sci Rep

Title: Scientific Reports

Publisher: Nature Publishing Group

ISSN (Electronic): 2045-2322

Publication date (Electronic): 24 October 2016

Publication date Collection: 2016

Volume: 6

Electronic Location Identifier: 35573

Affiliations

[1 ]Research Center of Brain and Cognitive Neuroscience, Liaoning Normal University , Dalian, 116029, China

[2 ]Department of Computer Science and Information Systems, University of Jyväskylä , Jyväskylä, 40014, Finland

[3 ]Department of Mathematical Information Technology, University of Jyväskylä , Jyväskylä, 40014, Finland

[4 ]Interdisciplinary Affective Science Laboratory, Northeastern University , Boston, MA, 02115, USA

[5 ]Key Laboratory for NeuroInformation of Ministry of Education, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China , Chengdu, 610054, China

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[a ] lq780614@ 123456163.com

Article

Publisher Item ID: srep35573

DOI: 10.1038/srep35573

PMC ID: 5075867

PubMed ID: 27774983

SO-VID: 2e338357-4fa2-44ed-85c1-e298d52dd343

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in the credit line; if the material is not included under the Creative Commons license, users will need to obtain permission from the license holder to reproduce the material. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Retro-dimension-cue benefit in visual working memory

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Embodied Memory

Most cited references 66

Load theory of selective attention and cognitive control.

Visual working memory capacity: from psychophysics and neurobiology to individual differences.

The precision of visual working memory is set by allocation of a shared resource.

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