1
|
Kassim FM, Tod S, Rodger J, Hood SD, Lee JWY, Albrecht MA, Martin-Iverson MT. Nabilone Impairs Spatial and Verbal Working Memory in Healthy Volunteers. Cannabis Cannabinoid Res 2024; 9:199-211. [PMID: 36201240 DOI: 10.1089/can.2022.0099] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Background: Memory impairments and psychosis-like experiences can be adverse effects of cannabis use. However, reports on the cognitive impact of cannabis use are not consistent. There are also limited studies on the psychotomimetic effects of cannabinoid compounds to reveal the association between cannabis and psychosis. Therefore, we investigated the effect of acute cannabinoid intoxication on verbal working memory (VWM) and spatial working memory (SWM) following oral doses of the synthetic cannabinoid agonist, nabilone (1-2 mg, oral). We further investigated the effect of nabilone on psychosis-like experiences (schizotypy scores) and associations of schizotypy with VWM and SWM. Methods: Healthy participants (n=28) completed spatial and digit span tasks across different delay conditions (0, 6, 12, and 18 sec) after receiving nabilone (1-2 mg, PO) or placebo in a randomized, double-blind, counterbalanced, crossover manner. A subset of participants completed a short battery of schizotypy measures (n=25). Results: Nabilone impaired VWM (p=0.03, weak effect size η2=0.02) and SWM (p=0.00016, η2=0.08). Nabilone did not significantly change overall schizotypy scores. Schizotypy scores were negatively correlated with working memory (WM) averaged across all delays and both modalities, under placebo (ρ=-0.41, p=0.04). In addition, there were significant negative correlations between occasions of cannabis use and overall WM averaged scores across drug treatments (ρ=-0.49, p=0.007) and under placebo (ρ=-0.45, p=0.004). The results showed that the drug effect in the less frequent cannabis users was more pronounced on the SWM (p<0.01) and VWM (p<0.01), whereas there appeared to be little drug effect in the frequent cannabis users. Conclusion: Low doses of synthetic cannabinoid impaired SWM and VWM, indicating that exogenous activation of the cannabinoid system influences cognitive performance. Further, the results replicated previous findings that schizotypy is correlated with deficits in WM. Clinical Trial Registry Name: Nabilone and caffeine effects on the perceptions of visually, auditory, tactile and multimodal illusions in healthy volunteers. Clinical Trial Registration Number: CT-2018-CTN-02561 (Therapeutic Goods Administration Clinical Trial Registry) and ACTRN12618001292268 (The Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry).
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Faiz M Kassim
- Psychopharmacology Research Unit, Discipline of Pharmacology, School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia, Australia
| | - Sophie Tod
- Psychopharmacology Research Unit, Discipline of Pharmacology, School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia, Australia
| | - Jennifer Rodger
- Experimental and Regenerative Neurosciences, School of Biological Sciences, University of Western Australia, Crawley, Western Australia, Australia
- Brain Plasticity Group, Perron Institute for Neurological and Translational Science, Nedlands, Western Australia, Australia
| | - Sean D Hood
- Division of Psychiatry, Medical School, University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia, Australia
| | - Joseph W Y Lee
- Division of Psychiatry, Medical School, University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia, Australia
| | - Matthew A Albrecht
- Western Australian Centre for Road Safety Research, School of Psychological Sciences, University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia, Australia
| | - Mathew T Martin-Iverson
- Psychopharmacology Research Unit, Discipline of Pharmacology, School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia, Australia
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Abstract
The neural and cognitive mechanisms of spatial working memory are tightly coupled with the systems that control eye movements, but the precise nature of this coupling is not well understood. It has been argued that the oculomotor system is selectively involved in rehearsal of spatial but not visual material in visuospatial working memory. However, few studies have directly compared the effect of saccadic interference on visual and spatial memory, and there is little consensus on how the underlying working memory representation is affected by saccadic interference. In this study we aimed to examine how working memory for visual and spatial features is affected by overt and covert attentional interference across two experiments. Participants were shown a memory array, then asked to either maintain fixation or to overtly or covertly shift attention in a detection task during the delay period. Using the continuous report task we directly examined the precision of visual and spatial working memory representations and fit psychophysical functions to investigate the sources of recall error associated with different types of interference. These data were interpreted in terms of embodied theories of attention and memory and provide new insights into the nature of the interactions between cognitive and motor systems.
Collapse
|
3
|
Richmond LL, Sargent JQ, Zacks JM. Virtual navigation in healthy aging: Activation during learning and deactivation during retrieval predicts successful memory for spatial locations. Neuropsychologia 2022; 173:108298. [PMID: 35697090 PMCID: PMC10546223 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2022.108298] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/17/2021] [Revised: 06/07/2022] [Accepted: 06/08/2022] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Spatial navigation and spatial memory are two important skills for independent living, and are known to be compromised with age. Here, we investigate the neural correlates of successful spatial memory in healthy older adults in order to learn more about the neural underpinnings of maintenance of navigation skill into old age. Healthy older adults watched a video shot by a person navigating a route and were asked to remember objects along the route and then attempted to remember object locations by virtually pointing to the location of hidden objects from several locations along the route. Brain activity during watching and pointing was recorded with functional MRI. Larger activations in temporal and frontal regions during watching, and larger deactivations in superior parietal cortex and intraparietal sulcus during pointing, were associated with smaller location errors. These findings suggest that larger evoked responses during learning of spatial information coupled with larger deactivation of canonical spatial memory regions at retrieval are important for effective spatial memory in late life.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Lauren L Richmond
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Washington University in St Louis, USA; Department of Psychology, Stony Brook University, USA.
| | | | - Jeffrey M Zacks
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Washington University in St Louis, USA
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Li HH, Sprague TC, Yoo AH, Ma WJ, Curtis CE. Joint representation of working memory and uncertainty in human cortex. Neuron 2021; 109:3699-3712.e6. [PMID: 34525327 PMCID: PMC8602749 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2021.08.022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/14/2021] [Revised: 07/09/2021] [Accepted: 08/17/2021] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
Neural representations of visual working memory (VWM) are noisy, and thus, decisions based on VWM are inevitably subject to uncertainty. However, the mechanisms by which the brain simultaneously represents the content and uncertainty of memory remain largely unknown. Here, inspired by the theory of probabilistic population codes, we test the hypothesis that the human brain represents an item maintained in VWM as a probability distribution over stimulus feature space, thereby capturing both its content and uncertainty. We used a neural generative model to decode probability distributions over memorized locations from fMRI activation patterns. We found that the mean of the probability distribution decoded from retinotopic cortical areas predicted memory reports on a trial-by-trial basis. Moreover, in several of the same mid-dorsal stream areas, the spread of the distribution predicted subjective trial-by-trial uncertainty judgments. These results provide evidence that VWM content and uncertainty are jointly represented by probabilistic neural codes.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Hsin-Hung Li
- Department of Psychology, New York University, New York, NY 10003, USA
| | - Thomas C Sprague
- Department of Psychology, New York University, New York, NY 10003, USA; Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA
| | - Aspen H Yoo
- Department of Psychology, New York University, New York, NY 10003, USA
| | - Wei Ji Ma
- Department of Psychology, New York University, New York, NY 10003, USA; Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, NY 10003, USA
| | - Clayton E Curtis
- Department of Psychology, New York University, New York, NY 10003, USA; Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, NY 10003, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Xu S, Akioma M, Yuan Z. Relationship between circadian rhythm and brain cognitive functions. FRONTIERS OF OPTOELECTRONICS 2021; 14:278-287. [PMID: 36637731 PMCID: PMC9743892 DOI: 10.1007/s12200-021-1090-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2020] [Accepted: 02/02/2021] [Indexed: 05/31/2023]
Abstract
Circadian rhythms are considered a masterstroke of natural selection, which gradually increase the adaptability of species to the Earth's rotation. Importantly, the nervous system plays a key role in allowing organisms to maintain circadian rhythmicity. Circadian rhythms affect multiple aspects of cognitive functions (mainly via arousal), particularly those needed for effort-intensive cognitive tasks, which require considerable top-down executive control. These include inhibitory control, working memory, task switching, and psychomotor vigilance. This mini review highlights the recent advances in cognitive functioning in the optical and multimodal neuroimaging fields; it discusses the processing of brain cognitive functions during the circadian rhythm phase and the effects of the circadian rhythm on the cognitive component of the brain and the brain circuit supporting cognition.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Shiyang Xu
- Faculty of Health Sciences, Centre for Cognitive and Brain Sciences, University of Macau, Taipa, Macau SAR, China
| | - Miriam Akioma
- Faculty of Health Sciences, Centre for Cognitive and Brain Sciences, University of Macau, Taipa, Macau SAR, China
| | - Zhen Yuan
- Faculty of Health Sciences, Centre for Cognitive and Brain Sciences, University of Macau, Taipa, Macau SAR, China.
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Object-based selection in visual working memory. Psychon Bull Rev 2021; 28:1961-1971. [PMID: 34258730 PMCID: PMC8642339 DOI: 10.3758/s13423-021-01971-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 06/04/2021] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Attentional mechanisms in perception can operate over locations, features, or objects. However, people direct attention not only towards information in the external world, but also to information maintained in working memory. To what extent do perception and memory draw on similar selection properties? Here we examined whether principles of object-based attention can also hold true in visual working memory. Experiment 1 examined whether object structure guides selection independently of spatial distance. In a memory updating task, participants encoded two rectangular bars with colored ends before updating two colors during maintenance. Memory updates were faster for two equidistant colors on the same object than on different objects. Experiment 2 examined whether selection of a single object feature spreads to other features within the same object. Participants memorized two sequentially presented Gabors, and a retro-cue indicated which object and feature dimension (color or orientation) would be most relevant to the memory test. We found stronger effects of object selection than feature selection: accuracy was higher for the uncued feature in the same object than the cued feature in the other object. Together these findings demonstrate effects of object-based attention on visual working memory, at least when object-based representations are encouraged, and suggest shared attentional mechanisms across perception and memory.
Collapse
|
7
|
Chung A, Busseri MA, Arnell KM. Between-person variation in naturally occurring affect does not relate to working memory performance: a latent variable modelling study. PSYCHOLOGICAL RESEARCH 2021; 85:1866-1884. [PMID: 33387021 DOI: 10.1007/s00426-020-01387-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/09/2019] [Accepted: 07/08/2020] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Some studies have shown that induced positive and negative affective states have differential effects on verbal and spatial working memory (WM) performance, such that positive affect improves verbal WM and impairs spatial WM, while negative affect improves spatial WM and impairs verbal WM. However, other evidence based on mood induction procedures or clinical levels of negative affect has supported a nonspecific influence of affect on WM performance where negative affect impairs, and positive affect improves, both verbal and spatial WM. The present study employed a latent variable approach to investigate whether differences in naturally occurring affect between individuals are related to verbal and spatial WM performance across six WM tasks in an unselected sample of undergraduate students (N = 112, M age = 20; 84% female). Results were consistent with previous evidence demonstrating a hierarchical model of WM. Naturally occurring positive and negative affect were not significantly related to WM performance on each task, and this lack of significant association held for the overall WM latent variable, verbal and spatial WM latent variables, as well as complex span and 2-back latent variables. In contrast to research demonstrating a relationship between induced affect or clinical levels of negative affect and WM, the non-significant relationship between naturally occurring affect and WM performance in the current nonclinical unselected sample suggests that typical levels of affect are not related to WM differences across individuals.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Andrew Chung
- Department of Psychology, Brock University, 1812 Sir Isaac Brock Way, St. Catharines, ON, L2S 3A1, Canada
| | - Michael A Busseri
- Department of Psychology, Brock University, 1812 Sir Isaac Brock Way, St. Catharines, ON, L2S 3A1, Canada
| | - Karen M Arnell
- Department of Psychology, Brock University, 1812 Sir Isaac Brock Way, St. Catharines, ON, L2S 3A1, Canada.
| |
Collapse
|
8
|
Shen Z, Ding Y, Satel J, Wang Z. A concurrent working memory load does not necessarily impair spatial attention: Evidence from inhibition of return. VISUAL COGNITION 2020. [DOI: 10.1080/13506285.2020.1858215] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Zhuowen Shen
- Institute of Psychological Sciences, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, People’s Republic of China
| | - Yun Ding
- Institute of Psychological Sciences, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, People’s Republic of China
- Experimental Psychology, Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands
| | - Jason Satel
- School of Psychological Sciences, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Australia
| | - Zhiguo Wang
- Institute of Psychological Sciences, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, People’s Republic of China
- SR Research, Ottawa, Canada
| |
Collapse
|
9
|
Smith DT, Archibald N. Spatial working memory in Progressive Supranuclear Palsy. Cortex 2020; 122:115-122. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2018.07.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2018] [Revised: 05/25/2018] [Accepted: 07/07/2018] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
|
10
|
Kim H. Neural activity during working memory encoding, maintenance, and retrieval: A network-based model and meta-analysis. Hum Brain Mapp 2019; 40:4912-4933. [PMID: 31373730 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.24747] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2019] [Revised: 07/08/2019] [Accepted: 07/23/2019] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
It remains unclear whether and to what extent working memory (WM) temporal subprocesses (i.e., encoding, maintenance, and retrieval) involve shared or distinct intrinsic networks. To address this issue, I constructed a model of intrinsic network contributions to different WM phases and then evaluated the validity of the model by performing a quantitative meta-analysis of relevant functional neuroimaging data. The model suggests that the transition from the encoding to maintenance and to retrieval stages involves progressively decreasing involvement of the dorsal attention network (DAN), but progressively increasing involvement of the frontoparietal control network (FPCN). Separate meta-analysis of each phase effect and direct comparisons between them yielded results that were largely consistent with the model. This evidence included between-phase double dissociations that were consistent with the model, such as encoding > maintenance contrast showing some DAN, but no FPCN, regions, and maintenance > encoding contrast showing the reverse, that is, some FPCN, but no DAN, regions. Two closely juxtaposed regions that are members of the DAN and FPCN, such as inferior frontal junction versus caudal prefrontal cortex and superior versus inferior intraparietal sulcus, showed a high degree of functional differentiation. Although all regions identified in the present study were already identified in previous WM studies, this study uniquely enhances our understating of their roles by clarifying their network membership and specific associations with different WM phases.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Hongkeun Kim
- Department of Rehabilitation Psychology, Daegu University, Gyeongsan-si, Republic of Korea
| |
Collapse
|
11
|
Test of a dynamic neural field model: spatial working memory is biased away from distractors. PSYCHOLOGICAL RESEARCH 2019; 84:1528-1544. [PMID: 30911825 DOI: 10.1007/s00426-019-01166-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/20/2018] [Accepted: 03/09/2019] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
Abstract
Attention facilitates the encoding (e.g., Awh, Anllo-Vento, & Hillyard, J Cognit Neurosci 12(5), 840-847, 2000) and maintenance of locations in spatial working memory (Awh, Vogel, & Oh, Atten, Percept Psychophys 78(4), 1043-1063, 2006). When individuals shift their attention during the maintenance period of a spatial working memory task, their memory of a target location tends to be biased in the direction of the attentional shift (Johnson & Spencer, 2016). Dynamic field theory predicts that in certain conditions, inhibitory mechanisms will result in biases away from distractors presented during the maintenance period of the task. Specifically, dynamic field theory predicts that memory responses will be biased toward distractors that are near the target location and biased away from distractors that are farther from the target location. In two experiments, the current study tested adults in a spatial memory task that required memorization of a single target location. On a subset of trials, a distractor appeared during the memory delay at different distances and directions from the target location. In contrast to the prediction, memory responses were biased away from distractors that were near the target location and not biased by distractors that were far from the target location, providing challenges for, dynamic field theory and other theories of spatial working memory.
Collapse
|
12
|
Recovery-oriented training programmes for mental health professionals: A narrative literature review. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2019. [DOI: 10.1016/j.mhp.2019.01.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
|
13
|
Simons DJ, Boot WR, Charness N, Gathercole SE, Chabris CF, Hambrick DZ, Stine-Morrow EAL. Do "Brain-Training" Programs Work? Psychol Sci Public Interest 2018; 17:103-186. [PMID: 27697851 DOI: 10.1177/1529100616661983] [Citation(s) in RCA: 553] [Impact Index Per Article: 92.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
In 2014, two groups of scientists published open letters on the efficacy of brain-training interventions, or "brain games," for improving cognition. The first letter, a consensus statement from an international group of more than 70 scientists, claimed that brain games do not provide a scientifically grounded way to improve cognitive functioning or to stave off cognitive decline. Several months later, an international group of 133 scientists and practitioners countered that the literature is replete with demonstrations of the benefits of brain training for a wide variety of cognitive and everyday activities. How could two teams of scientists examine the same literature and come to conflicting "consensus" views about the effectiveness of brain training?In part, the disagreement might result from different standards used when evaluating the evidence. To date, the field has lacked a comprehensive review of the brain-training literature, one that examines both the quantity and the quality of the evidence according to a well-defined set of best practices. This article provides such a review, focusing exclusively on the use of cognitive tasks or games as a means to enhance performance on other tasks. We specify and justify a set of best practices for such brain-training interventions and then use those standards to evaluate all of the published peer-reviewed intervention studies cited on the websites of leading brain-training companies listed on Cognitive Training Data (www.cognitivetrainingdata.org), the site hosting the open letter from brain-training proponents. These citations presumably represent the evidence that best supports the claims of effectiveness.Based on this examination, we find extensive evidence that brain-training interventions improve performance on the trained tasks, less evidence that such interventions improve performance on closely related tasks, and little evidence that training enhances performance on distantly related tasks or that training improves everyday cognitive performance. We also find that many of the published intervention studies had major shortcomings in design or analysis that preclude definitive conclusions about the efficacy of training, and that none of the cited studies conformed to all of the best practices we identify as essential to drawing clear conclusions about the benefits of brain training for everyday activities. We conclude with detailed recommendations for scientists, funding agencies, and policymakers that, if adopted, would lead to better evidence regarding the efficacy of brain-training interventions.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Daniel J Simons
- Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
| | | | - Neil Charness
- Department of Psychology, Florida State University Institute for Successful Longevity, Florida State University
| | - Susan E Gathercole
- Medical Research Council Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, Cambridge, UK School of Clinical Medicine, University of Cambridge
| | | | | | - Elizabeth A L Stine-Morrow
- Department of Educational Psychology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
| |
Collapse
|
14
|
Parmentier FBR, Andrés P. The Impact of Path Crossing on Visuo-Spatial Serial Memory: Encoding or Rehearsal Effect? Q J Exp Psychol (Hove) 2018; 59:1867-74. [PMID: 16987778 DOI: 10.1080/17470210600872154] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Abstract
The determinants of visuo-spatial serial memory have been the object of little research, despite early evidence that not all sequences are equally remembered. Recently, empirical evidence was reported indicating that the complexity of the path formed by the to-be-remembered locations impacted on recall performance, defined for example by the presence of crossings in the path formed by successive locations (Parmentier, Elford, & Maybery, 2005). In this study, we examined whether this effect reflects rehearsal or encoding processes. We examined the effect of a retention interval and spatial interference on the ordered recall of spatial sequences with and without path crossings. Path crossings decreased recall performance, as did a retention interval. In line with the encoding hypothesis, but in contrast with the rehearsal hypothesis, the effect of crossing was not affected by the retention interval nor by tapping. The possible nature of the impact of path crossing on encoding mechanisms is discussed.
Collapse
|
15
|
Pupillary correlates of covert shifts of attention during working memory maintenance. Atten Percept Psychophys 2017; 79:782-795. [PMID: 28083772 DOI: 10.3758/s13414-016-1272-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
The pupillary light reflex (PLR) was used to track covert shifts of attention to items maintained in visual working memory (VWM). In three experiments, participants performed a change detection task in which rectangles appeared on either side of fixation and at test participants indicated if the cued rectangle changed its orientation. Prior to presentation or during the delay, participants were cued to the light or dark side of the screen. When cued to the light side, the pupil constricted, and when cued to the dark side, the pupil dilated, suggesting that the PLR tracked covert shifts of attention. Similar covert shifts of attention were seen when the target stimuli remained onscreen and during a blank delay period, suggesting similar effects for attention to perceptual stimuli and attention to stimuli maintained in VWM. Furthermore, similar effects were demonstrated when participants were pre-cued or retro-cued to the prioritized location, suggesting that shifts of covert attention can occur both before and after target presentation. These results are consistent with prior research, suggesting an important role of covert shifts of attention during VWM maintenance and that the PLR can be used to track these covert shifts of attention.
Collapse
|
16
|
Modulating perceptual complexity and load reveals degradation of the visual working memory network in ageing. Neuroimage 2017. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2017.06.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
|
17
|
Fabius JH, Mathôt S, Schut MJ, Nijboer TCW, Van der Stigchel S. Focus of spatial attention during spatial working memory maintenance: Evidence from pupillary light response. VISUAL COGNITION 2017. [DOI: 10.1080/13506285.2017.1311975] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- J. H. Fabius
- Experimental Psychology, Helmholtz Institute, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - S. Mathôt
- Experimental Psychology, Groningen University, Groningen, The Netherlands
- Laboratoire de Psychologie Cognitive, Aix Marseille University, Marseille, France
| | - M. J. Schut
- Experimental Psychology, Helmholtz Institute, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - T. C. W. Nijboer
- Experimental Psychology, Helmholtz Institute, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands
- Brain Center Rudolf Magnus and Center of Excellence for Rehabilitation Medicine, University Medical Center Utrecht and De Hoogstraat Rehabilitation, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - S. Van der Stigchel
- Experimental Psychology, Helmholtz Institute, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| |
Collapse
|
18
|
Williams LH, Drew T. Distraction in diagnostic radiology: How is search through volumetric medical images affected by interruptions? Cogn Res Princ Implic 2017; 2:12. [PMID: 28275705 PMCID: PMC5318487 DOI: 10.1186/s41235-017-0050-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/18/2016] [Accepted: 01/14/2017] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Observational studies have shown that interruptions are a frequent occurrence in diagnostic radiology. The present study used an experimental design in order to quantify the cost of these interruptions during search through volumetric medical images. Participants searched through chest CT scans for nodules that are indicative of lung cancer. In half of the cases, search was interrupted by a series of true or false math equations. The primary cost of these interruptions was an increase in search time with no corresponding increase in accuracy or lung coverage. This time cost was not modulated by the difficulty of the interruption task or an individual's working memory capacity. Eye-tracking suggests that this time cost was driven by impaired memory for which regions of the lung were searched prior to the interruption. Potential interventions will be discussed in the context of these results.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | - Trafton Drew
- Department of Psychology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT USA
| |
Collapse
|
19
|
Schutte AR, Keiser BA, Beattie HL. Developmental Differences in the Influence of Distractors on Maintenance in Spatial Working Memory. JOURNAL OF COGNITION AND DEVELOPMENT 2017; 18:338-357. [PMID: 30906231 DOI: 10.1080/15248372.2017.1300155] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Abstract
This study examined whether attention to a location plays a role in the maintenance of locations in spatial working memory in young children as it does in adults. This study was the first to investigate whether distractors presented during the delay of a spatial working memory task influenced young children's memory responses. Across two experiments, 3- and 6-year-olds completed a spatial working memory task featuring a static target location and distractor location. Results indicated a change between 3 and 6 years of age in how distractors influenced memory. Six-year-olds' memory responses were biased away from a distractor that was close to the target location and on the outside of the target location relative to the center of the monitor. Distractors that were far from the target or that were toward the center of the monitor relative to the target location had no effect. Three-year-olds' responses were biased toward a distractor when the distractor was on the outside of the target location and farther from the target. Distractors that were near the target location or toward the center of the monitor had no effect. These biases provide evidence that young children's maintenance of a location in memory is influenced by attention.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Anne R Schutte
- Center for Brain, Biology, and Behavior and the Department of Psychology, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
| | - Brian A Keiser
- Children, Youth, and Family Studies, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
| | | |
Collapse
|
20
|
Serences JT. Neural mechanisms of information storage in visual short-term memory. Vision Res 2016; 128:53-67. [PMID: 27668990 DOI: 10.1016/j.visres.2016.09.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 108] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/08/2016] [Revised: 09/02/2016] [Accepted: 09/21/2016] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
The capacity to briefly memorize fleeting sensory information supports visual search and behavioral interactions with relevant stimuli in the environment. Traditionally, studies investigating the neural basis of visual short term memory (STM) have focused on the role of prefrontal cortex (PFC) in exerting executive control over what information is stored and how it is adaptively used to guide behavior. However, the neural substrates that support the actual storage of content-specific information in STM are more controversial, with some attributing this function to PFC and others to the specialized areas of early visual cortex that initially encode incoming sensory stimuli. In contrast to these traditional views, I will review evidence suggesting that content-specific information can be flexibly maintained in areas across the cortical hierarchy ranging from early visual cortex to PFC. While the factors that determine exactly where content-specific information is represented are not yet entirely clear, recognizing the importance of task-demands and better understanding the operation of non-spiking neural codes may help to constrain new theories about how memories are maintained at different resolutions, across different timescales, and in the presence of distracting information.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- John T Serences
- Department of Psychology, Neurosciences Graduate Program, and the Kavli Institute for Mind and Brain, University of California, San Diego, United States.
| |
Collapse
|
21
|
Jonides J, Lacey SC, Nee DE. Processes of Working Memory in Mind and Brain. CURRENT DIRECTIONS IN PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE 2016. [DOI: 10.1111/j.0963-7214.2005.00323.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 68] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
Working memory is often conceptualized as storage buffers that retain information briefly, rehearsal processes that refresh the buffers, and executive processes that manipulate the contents of the buffers. We review evidence about the brain mechanisms that may underlie storage and rehearsal in working memory. We hypothesize that storage is mediated by the same brain structures that process perceptual information and that rehearsal engages a network of brain areas that also controls attention to external stimuli.
Collapse
|
22
|
Abstract
This human neuroimaging review aims to determine the degree to which visual memory evokes activity in neural regions that have been associated with visual perception. A visual perception framework is proposed to identify cortical regions associated with modality-specific processing (i.e., visual, auditory, motor, or olfactory), visual domain-specific processing (i.e., “what” versus “where,” or face versus visual context), and visual feature-specific processing (i.e., color, motion, or spatial location). Independent assessments of visual item memory studies and visual working memory studies revealed activity in the appropriate cortical regions associated with each of the three levels of visual perception processing. These results provide compelling evidence that visual memory and visual perception are associated with common neural substrates. Furthermore, as with visual perception, they support the view that visual memory is a constructive process, in which features or components from disparate cortical regions bind together to form a coherent whole.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Scott D Slotnick
- Department of Psychology, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA 02467, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
23
|
Abstract
Transformations of visuospatial mental images are important for action, navigation, and reasoning. They depend on representations in multiple spatial reference frames, implemented in the posterior parietal cortex and other brain regions. The multiple systems framework proposes that different transformations can be distinguished in terms of which spatial reference frame is updated. In an object-based transformation, the reference frame of an object moves relative to those of the observer and the environment. In a perspective transformation, the observer's egocentric reference frame moves relative to those of the environment and of salient objects. These two types of spatial reference frame updating rely on distinct neural processing resources in the parietal, occipital, and temporal cortex. They are characterized by different behavioral patterns and unique individual differences. Both object-based transformations and perspective transformations interact with posterior frontal cortical regions subserving the simulation of body movements. These interactions indicate that multiple systems coordinate to support everyday spatial problem solving.
Collapse
|
24
|
Abstract
Working memory is a system that keeps limited information on-line for immediate access by cognitive processes. This type of active maintenance is important for everyday life activities. The present study shows that maintaining a location in spatial working memory affects the trajectories of saccadic eye movements toward visual targets, as the eyes deviate away from the remembered location. This finding provides direct evidence for a strong overlap between spatial working memory and the eye movement system. We argue that curvature is the result of the need to inhibit memory-based eye movement activity in the superior colliculus, in order to allow an accurate saccade to the visual target. Whereas previous research has shown that the eyes may deviate away from visually presented stimuli that need to be ignored, we show that the eyes also curve away from remembered stimuli.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jan Theeuwes
- Vrije Universiteit, Boechorststraat 1, 1081 BT Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
| | | | | |
Collapse
|
25
|
Lamp G, Alexander B, Laycock R, Crewther DP, Crewther SG. Mapping of the Underlying Neural Mechanisms of Maintenance and Manipulation in Visuo-Spatial Working Memory Using An n-back Mental Rotation Task: A Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study. Front Behav Neurosci 2016; 10:87. [PMID: 27199694 PMCID: PMC4858518 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2016.00087] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2015] [Accepted: 04/18/2016] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Mapping of the underlying neural mechanisms of visuo-spatial working memory (WM) has been shown to consistently elicit activity in right hemisphere dominant fronto-parietal networks. However to date, the bulk of neuroimaging literature has focused largely on the maintenance aspect of visuo-spatial WM, with a scarcity of research into the aspects of WM involving manipulation of information. Thus, this study aimed to compare maintenance-only with maintenance and manipulation of visuo-spatial stimuli (3D cube shapes) utilizing a 1-back task while functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scans were acquired. Sixteen healthy participants (9 women, M = 23.94 years, SD = 2.49) were required to perform the 1-back task with or without mentally rotating the shapes 90° on a vertical axis. When no rotation was required (maintenance-only condition), a right hemispheric lateralization was revealed across fronto-parietal areas. However, when the task involved maintaining and manipulating the same stimuli through 90° rotation, activation was primarily seen in the bilateral parietal lobe and left fusiform gyrus. The findings confirm that the well-established right lateralized fronto-parietal networks are likely to underlie simple maintenance of visuo-spatial stimuli. The results also suggest that the added demand of manipulation of information maintained online appears to require further neural recruitment of functionally related areas. In particular mental rotation of visuospatial stimuli required bilateral parietal areas, and the left fusiform gyrus potentially to maintain a categorical or object representation. It can be concluded that WM is a complex neural process involving the interaction of an increasingly large network.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Gemma Lamp
- Department of Psychology and Counselling, School of Psychology and Public Health, LaTrobe University Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Bonnie Alexander
- Department of Psychology and Counselling, School of Psychology and Public Health, LaTrobe University Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Robin Laycock
- Department of Psychology and Counselling, School of Psychology and Public Health, LaTrobe University Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - David P Crewther
- Centre for Human Psychopharmacology, Swinburne University Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Sheila G Crewther
- Department of Psychology and Counselling, School of Psychology and Public Health, LaTrobe University Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| |
Collapse
|
26
|
Testing a dynamic-field account of interactions between spatial attention and spatial working memory. Atten Percept Psychophys 2016; 78:1043-63. [PMID: 26810574 DOI: 10.3758/s13414-015-1058-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Studies examining the relationship between spatial attention and spatial working memory (SWM) have shown that discrimination responses are faster for targets appearing at locations that are being maintained in SWM, and that location memory is impaired when attention is withdrawn during the delay. These observations support the proposal that sustained attention is required for successful retention in SWM: If attention is withdrawn, memory representations are likely to fail, increasing errors. In the present study, this proposal was reexamined in light of a neural-process model of SWM. On the basis of the model's functioning, we propose an alternative explanation for the observed decline in SWM performance when a secondary task is performed during retention: SWM representations drift systematically toward the location of targets appearing during the delay. To test this explanation, participants completed a color discrimination task during the delay interval of a spatial-recall task. In the critical shifting-attention condition, the color stimulus could appear either toward or away from the midline reference axis, relative to the memorized location. We hypothesized that if shifting attention during the delay leads to the failure of SWM representations, there should be an increase in the variance of recall errors, but no change in directional errors, regardless of the direction of the shift. Conversely, if shifting attention induces drift of SWM representations-as predicted by the model-systematic changes in the patterns of spatial-recall errors should occur that would depend on the direction of the shift. The results were consistent with the latter possibility-recall errors were biased toward the locations of discrimination targets appearing during the delay.
Collapse
|
27
|
Dunne S, Ellison A, Smith DT. Rewards modulate saccade latency but not exogenous spatial attention. Front Psychol 2015; 6:1080. [PMID: 26284004 PMCID: PMC4516812 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01080] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/27/2015] [Accepted: 07/13/2015] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The eye movement system is sensitive to reward. However, whilst the eye movement system is extremely flexible, the extent to which changes to oculomotor behavior induced by reward paradigms persist beyond the training period or transfer to other oculomotor tasks is unclear. To address these issues we examined the effects of presenting feedback that represented small monetary rewards to spatial locations on the latency of saccadic eye movements, the time-course of learning and extinction of the effects of rewarding saccades on exogenous spatial attention and oculomotor inhibition of return. Reward feedback produced a relative facilitation of saccadic latency in a stimulus driven saccade task which persisted for three blocks of extinction trials. However, this hemifield-specific effect failed to transfer to peripheral cueing tasks. We conclude that rewarding specific spatial locations is unlikely to induce long-term, systemic changes to the human oculomotor or attention systems.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Stephen Dunne
- Department of Psychology, Durham University , Stockton-on-Tees, UK
| | - Amanda Ellison
- Department of Psychology, Durham University , Stockton-on-Tees, UK
| | - Daniel T Smith
- Department of Psychology, Durham University , Stockton-on-Tees, UK
| |
Collapse
|
28
|
Becke A, Müller N, Vellage A, Schoenfeld MA, Hopf JM. Neural sources of visual working memory maintenance in human parietal and ventral extrastriate visual cortex. Neuroimage 2015; 110:78-86. [PMID: 25662867 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2015.01.059] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/16/2014] [Revised: 01/27/2015] [Accepted: 01/29/2015] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Maintaining information in visual working memory is reliably indexed by the contralateral delay activity (CDA) - a sustained modulation of the event-related potential (ERP) with a topographical maximum over posterior scalp regions contralateral to the memorized input. Based on scalp topography, it is hypothesized that the CDA reflects neural activity in the parietal cortex, but the precise cortical origin of underlying electric activity was never determined. Here we combine ERP recordings with magnetoencephalography based source localization to characterize the cortical current sources generating the CDA. Observers performed a cued delayed match to sample task where either the color or the relative position of colored dots had to be maintained in memory. A detailed source-localization analysis of the magnetic activity in the retention interval revealed that the magnetic analog of the CDA (mCDA) is generated by current sources in the parietal cortex. Importantly, we find that the mCDA also receives contribution from current sources in the ventral extrastriate cortex that display a time-course similar to the parietal sources. On the basis of the magnetic responses, forward modeling of ERP data reveals that the ventral sources have non-optimal projections and that these sources are therefore concealed in the ERP by overlapping fields with parietal projections. The present observations indicate that visual working memory maintenance, as indexed by the CDA, involves the parietal cortical regions as well as the ventral extrastriate regions, which code the sensory representation of the memorized content.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Andreas Becke
- Department of Neurology, Otto-von-Guericke University, Magdeburg, Germany; Institute of Cognitive Neurology and Dementia Research, Magdeburg, Germany; German Center of Neurodegenerative Diseases, Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Notger Müller
- Department of Neurology, Otto-von-Guericke University, Magdeburg, Germany; German Center of Neurodegenerative Diseases, Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Anne Vellage
- Department of Neurology, Otto-von-Guericke University, Magdeburg, Germany; German Center of Neurodegenerative Diseases, Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Mircea Ariel Schoenfeld
- Department of Neurology, Otto-von-Guericke University, Magdeburg, Germany; Leibniz Institute for Neurobiology, Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Jens-Max Hopf
- Department of Neurology, Otto-von-Guericke University, Magdeburg, Germany; Leibniz Institute for Neurobiology, Magdeburg, Germany.
| |
Collapse
|
29
|
Holt JL, Delvenne JF. A bilateral advantage for maintaining objects in visual short term memory. Acta Psychol (Amst) 2015; 154:54-61. [PMID: 25496932 DOI: 10.1016/j.actpsy.2014.11.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/16/2014] [Revised: 11/10/2014] [Accepted: 11/22/2014] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Research has shown that attentional pre-cues can subsequently influence the transfer of information into visual short term memory (VSTM) (Schmidt, B., Vogel, E., Woodman, G., & Luck, S. (2002). Voluntary and automatic attentional control of visual working memory. Perception & Psychophysics, 64(5), 754-763). However, studies also suggest that those effects are constrained by the hemifield alignment of the pre-cues (Holt, J. L., & Delvenne, J.-F. (2014). A bilateral advantage in controlling access to visual short-term memory. Experimental Psychology, 61(2), 127-133), revealing better recall when distributed across hemifields relative to within a single hemifield (otherwise known as a bilateral field advantage). By manipulating the duration of the retention interval in a colour change detection task (1s, 3s), we investigated whether selective pre-cues can also influence how information is later maintained in VSTM. The results revealed that the pre-cues influenced the maintenance of the colours in VSTM, promoting consistent performance across retention intervals (Experiments 1 & 4). However, those effects were only shown when the pre-cues were directed to stimuli displayed across hemifields relative to stimuli within a single hemifield. Importantly, the results were not replicated when participants were required to memorise colours (Experiment 2) or locations (Experiment 3) in the absence of spatial pre-cues. Those findings strongly suggest that attentional pre-cues have a strong influence on both the transfer of information in VSTM and its subsequent maintenance, allowing bilateral items to better survive decay.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jessica L Holt
- Institute of Psychological Sciences, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK
| | | |
Collapse
|
30
|
Panwar K, Rutherford HJ, Mencl WE, Lacadie CM, Potenza MN, Mayes LC. Differential associations between impulsivity and risk-taking and brain activations underlying working memory in adolescents. Addict Behav 2014; 39:1606-1621. [PMID: 24582821 DOI: 10.1016/j.addbeh.2013.12.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2013] [Revised: 11/11/2013] [Accepted: 12/05/2013] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
Increased impulsivity and risk-taking are common during adolescence and relate importantly to addictive behaviors. However, the extent to which impulsivity and risk-taking relate to brain activations that mediate cognitive processing is not well understood. Here we examined the relationships between impulsivity and risk-taking and the neural correlates of working memory. Neural activity was measured in 18 adolescents (13-18 years) while they engaged in a working memory task that included verbal and visuospatial components that each involved encoding, rehearsal and recognition stages. Risk-taking and impulsivity were assessed using the Balloon Analogue Risk Task (BART) and the adolescent version of the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale-11 (BIS-11A), respectively. We found overlapping as well as distinct regions subserving the different stages of verbal and visuospatial working memory. In terms of risk-taking, we found a positive correlation between BART scores and activity in subcortical regions (e.g., thalamus, dorsal striatum) recruited during verbal rehearsal, and an inverse correlation between BART scores and cortical regions (e.g., parietal and temporal regions) recruited during visuospatial rehearsal. The BIS-11A evidenced that motor impulsivity was associated with activity in regions recruited during all stages of working memory, while attention and non-planning impulsivity was only associated with activity in regions recruited during recognition. In considering working memory, impulsivity and risk-taking together, both impulsivity and risk-taking were associated with activity in regions recruited during rehearsal; however, during verbal rehearsal, differential correlations were found. Specifically, positive correlations were found between: (1) risk-taking and activity in subcortical regions, including the thalamus and dorsal striatum; and, (2) motor impulsivity and activity in the left inferior frontal gyrus, insula, and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. Therefore these findings suggest that while there may be some overlap in the neural correlates of working memory and their relationship to impulsivity and risk-taking, there are also important differences in these constructs and their relationship to the stages of working memory during adolescence.
Collapse
|
31
|
Foerster RM, Carbone E, Schneider WX. Long-term memory-based control of attention in multi-step tasks requires working memory: evidence from domain-specific interference. Front Psychol 2014; 5:408. [PMID: 24847304 PMCID: PMC4023044 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00408] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2013] [Accepted: 04/18/2014] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Evidence for long-term memory (LTM)-based control of attention has been found during the execution of highly practiced multi-step tasks. However, does LTM directly control for attention or are working memory (WM) processes involved? In the present study, this question was investigated with a dual-task paradigm. Participants executed either a highly practiced visuospatial sensorimotor task (speed stacking) or a verbal task (high-speed poem reciting), while maintaining visuospatial or verbal information in WM. Results revealed unidirectional and domain-specific interference. Neither speed stacking nor high-speed poem reciting was influenced by WM retention. Stacking disrupted the retention of visuospatial locations, but did not modify memory performance of verbal material (letters). Reciting reduced the retention of verbal material substantially whereas it affected the memory performance of visuospatial locations to a smaller degree. We suggest that the selection of task-relevant information from LTM for the execution of overlearned multi-step tasks recruits domain-specific WM.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Rebecca M Foerster
- Neuro-Cognitive Psychology, Department of Psychology, Bielefeld University Bielefeld, Germany ; Cluster of Excellence 'Cognitive Interaction Technology,' Bielefeld University Bielefeld, Germany
| | - Elena Carbone
- Neuro-Cognitive Psychology, Department of Psychology, Bielefeld University Bielefeld, Germany ; Cluster of Excellence 'Cognitive Interaction Technology,' Bielefeld University Bielefeld, Germany
| | - Werner X Schneider
- Neuro-Cognitive Psychology, Department of Psychology, Bielefeld University Bielefeld, Germany ; Cluster of Excellence 'Cognitive Interaction Technology,' Bielefeld University Bielefeld, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
32
|
Wilrycx GKML, Croon MA, van den Broek AHS, van Nieuwenhuizen C. Mental health recovery: evaluation of a recovery-oriented training program. ScientificWorldJournal 2012; 2012:820846. [PMID: 23365529 PMCID: PMC3540760 DOI: 10.1100/2012/820846] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2012] [Accepted: 11/24/2012] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
AIM This study investigates the effectiveness of a recovery-oriented training program on knowledge and attitudes of mental health care professionals towards recovery of people with serious mental illness. METHODS Using data from a longitudinal study of recovery, changes in knowledge and attitudes of 210 mental health care professionals towards recovery were explored using the Recovery Attitude Questionnaire and the Recovery Knowledge Inventory. The study uses a two-group multiple intervention interrupted time-series design which is a variant of the stepped-wedge trial design. A total of six measurements occasions took place. RESULTS This study shows that professionals' attitudes towards recovery from mental illness can improve with training. After two intensive recovery-oriented training sessions, mental health care professionals have a more positive attitude towards recovery in clinical practice. CONCLUSION A recovery-oriented training program can change attitudes of mental health care professionals towards recovery of serious mental illness.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- G K M L Wilrycx
- GGz Breburg, Institute of Mental Health Care, Scientific Center for Care & Welfare (Tranzo), Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences, Tilburg University, P.O. Box 90153, 5000 LE Tilburg, The Netherlands.
| | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
33
|
What we remember affects how we see: Spatial working memory steers saccade programming. Atten Percept Psychophys 2012; 75:308-21. [DOI: 10.3758/s13414-012-0388-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
|
34
|
Is reaction time variability consistent across sensory modalities? Insights from latent variable analysis of single-trial P3b latencies. Biol Psychol 2012; 91:275-82. [DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2012.07.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/18/2012] [Revised: 05/30/2012] [Accepted: 07/16/2012] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
|
35
|
Metzak PD, Riley JD, Wang L, Whitman JC, Ngan ETC, Woodward TS. Decreased efficiency of task-positive and task-negative networks during working memory in schizophrenia. Schizophr Bull 2012; 38:803-13. [PMID: 21224491 PMCID: PMC3406536 DOI: 10.1093/schbul/sbq154] [Citation(s) in RCA: 68] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
Working memory (WM) is one of the most impaired cognitive processes in schizophrenia. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies in this area have typically found a reduction in information processing efficiency but have focused on the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. In the current study using the Sternberg Item Recognition Test, we consider networks of regions supporting WM and measure the activation of functionally connected neural networks over different WM load conditions. We used constrained principal component analysis with a finite impulse response basis set to compare the estimated hemodynamic response associated with different WM load condition for 15 healthy control subjects and 15 schizophrenia patients. Three components emerged, reflecting activated (task-positive) and deactivated (task-negative or default-mode) neural networks. Two of the components (with both task-positive and task-negative aspects) were load dependent, were involved in encoding and delay phases (one exclusively encoding and the other both encoding and delay), and both showed evidence for decreased efficiency in patients. The results suggest that WM capacity is reached sooner for schizophrenia patients as the overt levels of WM load increase, to the point that further increases in overt memory load do not increase fMRI activation, and lead to performance impairments. These results are consistent with an account holding that patients show reduced efficiency in task-positive and task-negative networks during WM and also partially support the shifted inverted-U-shaped curve theory of the relationship between WM load and fMRI activation in schizophrenia.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Paul D. Metzak
- Department of Psychiatry, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada,BC Mental Health and Addictions Research Institute, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - Jennifer D. Riley
- Department of Psychiatry, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada,BC Mental Health and Addictions Research Institute, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - Liang Wang
- Department of Psychiatry, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada,BC Mental Health and Addictions Research Institute, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - Jennifer C. Whitman
- Department of Psychiatry, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada,BC Mental Health and Addictions Research Institute, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - Elton T. C. Ngan
- Department of Psychiatry, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - Todd S. Woodward
- Department of Psychiatry, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada,BC Mental Health and Addictions Research Institute, Vancouver, BC, Canada,To whom correspondence should be addressed; BC Mental Health and Addictions Research Institute—Translational Research Building, Room A3-A116, 3rd Floor, 938 West 28th Avenue, Vancouver, BC V5Z 4H4, Canada; tel: 604-875-2000 x 4724, fax: 604-875-3871, e-mail:
| |
Collapse
|
36
|
Abstract
In the present study, we examined whether eye movements facilitate retention of visuo-spatial information in working memory. In two experiments, participants memorised the sequence of the spatial locations of six digits across a retention interval. In some conditions, participants were free to move their eyes during the retention interval, but in others they either were required to remain fixated or were instructed to move their eyes exclusively to a selection of the memorised locations. Memory performance was no better when participants were free to move their eyes during the memory interval than when they fixated a single location. Furthermore, the results demonstrated a primacy effect in the eye movement behaviour that corresponded with the memory performance. We conclude that overt eye movements do not provide a benefit over covert attention for rehearsing visuo-spatial information in working memory.
Collapse
|
37
|
Munneke J, Belopolsky AV, Theeuwes J. Shifting attention within memory representations involves early visual areas. PLoS One 2012; 7:e35528. [PMID: 22558165 PMCID: PMC3338846 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0035528] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/03/2011] [Accepted: 03/18/2012] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Prior studies have shown that spatial attention modulates early visual cortex retinotopically, resulting in enhanced processing of external perceptual representations. However, it is not clear whether the same visual areas are modulated when attention is focused on, and shifted within a working memory representation. In the current fMRI study participants were asked to memorize an array containing four stimuli. After a delay, participants were presented with a verbal cue instructing them to actively maintain the location of one of the stimuli in working memory. Additionally, on a number of trials a second verbal cue instructed participants to switch attention to the location of another stimulus within the memorized representation. Results of the study showed that changes in the BOLD pattern closely followed the locus of attention within the working memory representation. A decrease in BOLD-activity (V1–V3) was observed at ROIs coding a memory location when participants switched away from this location, whereas an increase was observed when participants switched towards this location. Continuous increased activity was obtained at the memorized location when participants did not switch. This study shows that shifting attention within memory representations activates the earliest parts of visual cortex (including V1) in a retinotopic fashion. We conclude that even in the absence of visual stimulation, early visual areas support shifting of attention within memorized representations, similar to when attention is shifted in the outside world. The relationship between visual working memory and visual mental imagery is discussed in light of the current findings.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jaap Munneke
- Department of Cognitive Psychology, VU University Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
| | | | | |
Collapse
|
38
|
Configural representations in spatial working memory: modulation by perceptual segregation and voluntary attention. Atten Percept Psychophys 2012; 73:2130-42. [PMID: 21761373 DOI: 10.3758/s13414-011-0180-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
In what form are multiple spatial locations represented in working memory? The present study revealed that people often maintain the configural properties (interitem relationships) of visuospatial stimuli even when this information is explicitly task-irrelevant. However, the results also indicated that the voluntary allocation of selective attention prior to stimulus presentation, as well as feature-based perceptual segregation of relevant from irrelevant stimuli, can eliminate the influence of stimulus configuration on location-change detection performance. In contrast, voluntary attention cued to the relevant target location following presentation of the stimulus array failed to attenuate these influences. Thus, whereas voluntary selective attention can isolate or prevent the encoding of irrelevant stimulus locations and configural properties, people, perhaps due to limitations in attentional resources, reliably fail to isolate or suppress configural representations that have been encoded into working memory.
Collapse
|
39
|
A neurophysiological analysis of working memory in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Brain Res 2011; 1421:90-9. [DOI: 10.1016/j.brainres.2011.09.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/24/2011] [Revised: 09/05/2011] [Accepted: 09/07/2011] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
|
40
|
Abstract
Verbal information is coded naturally as ordered representations in working memory (WM). However, this may not be true for spatial information. Accordingly, we used memory span tasks to test the hypothesis that serial order is more readily bound to verbal than to spatial representations. Removing serial-order requirements improved performance more for spatial locations than for digits. Furthermore, serial order was freely reproduced twice as frequently for digits as for locations. When participants reordered spatial sequences, they minimized the mean distance between items. Participants also failed to detect changes in serial order more frequently for spatial than for verbal sequences. These results provide converging evidence for a dissociation in the binding of serial order to spatial versus verbal representations. There may be separable domain-specific control processes responsible for this binding. Alternatively, there may be fundamental differences in how effectively temporal information can be bound to different types of stimulus features in WM.
Collapse
|
41
|
Yi Y, Leung HC. Linear and nonlinear prefrontal and parietal activity during multiple-item working memory. Neuroimage 2011; 57:1281-91. [PMID: 21596144 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2011.05.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/18/2010] [Revised: 02/27/2011] [Accepted: 05/02/2011] [Indexed: 10/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Most parts of the prefrontal and posterior parietal cortices show sustained activity during short-term maintenance of visual information and their activity increases with increasing memory set size. To investigate the interplay of feature selectivity, memory load and inter-item interaction (or interference) on sustained activity, we compared and contrasted fMRI signal during the retention of two items from the same or different visual feature categories (e.g., two line orientations versus a line and a color) relative to the retention of single items. Data from 16 young adults revealed three types of activation patterns in the prefrontal and posterior parietal cortices. First, among the prefrontal and posterior parietal areas that showed preferential responses to line orientations, some exhibited linear increases in sustained activity whereas others exhibited nonlinear increases in correspondence to the number of lines in the memory set. Second, the right lateral prefrontal and ventral posterior parietal areas, albeit not showing differential sustained activity relative to lines or colors, were disproportionately more active during holding two lines in comparison to holding a line and a color. Third, the left posterior intraparietal sulcus showed a weak effect of memory set size regardless of the items' visual features. These observations suggest that rather than number of items, a combination of factors such as visual feature and memory-set homogeneity may have the greater influence on prefrontal and parietal activity during multiple-item working memory. This is consistent with the view that working memory capacity is influenced by the level of interaction or interference between visual stimuli, which is stronger between items from the same feature category.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Yuji Yi
- New York Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY 10032, USA.
| | | |
Collapse
|
42
|
Hartley AA, Little DM, Speer NK, Jonides J. Input, retention, and output factors affecting adult age differences in visuospatial short-term memory. J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci 2011; 66:435-43. [PMID: 21498844 DOI: 10.1093/geronb/gbr020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVES The sources of age differences in short-term memory for spatial locations were explored in 2 experiments that examined factors related to input, to maintenance, and to output. METHOD In each experiment, 4 dots were presented briefly, followed after a retention interval by a probe dot, which was judged to either match or not match one of the 4 memory-set dots. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Results showed that poorer performance by older adults could be attributed independently to reduced visual acuity, to less effective use of rehearsal strategies, and to differences in response biases.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Alan A Hartley
- Department of Psychology, Scripps College, Claremont, CA 91711, USA.
| | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
43
|
Common neural mechanisms supporting spatial working memory, attention and motor intention. Neuropsychologia 2010; 49:1428-34. [PMID: 21182852 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2010.12.020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 134] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2010] [Revised: 11/26/2010] [Accepted: 12/11/2010] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
The prefrontal cortex (PFC) and posterior parietal cortex (PPC) are critical neural substrates for working memory. Neural activity persists in these regions during the maintenance of a working memory representation. Persistent activity, therefore, may be the neural mechanism by which information is temporarily maintained. However, the nature of the representation or what is actually being represented by this persistent activity is not well understood. In this review, we summarize the recent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies conducted in our laboratory that test hypotheses about the nature of persistent activity during a variety of spatial cognition tasks. We find that the same areas in the PFC and PPC that show persistent activity during the maintenance of a working memory representation also show persistent activity during the maintenance of spatial attention and the maintenance of motor intention. Therefore, we conclude that persistent activity is not specific to working memory, but instead, carries information that can be used generally to support a variety of cognitions. Specifically, activity in topographically organized maps of prioritized space in PFC and PPC could be read out to guide attention allocation, spatial memory, and motor planning.
Collapse
|
44
|
Bledowski C, Kaiser J, Rahm B. Basic operations in working memory: Contributions from functional imaging studies. Behav Brain Res 2010; 214:172-9. [PMID: 20678984 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2010.05.041] [Citation(s) in RCA: 78] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/23/2010] [Accepted: 05/23/2010] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
|
45
|
Disruption of spatial memory in visual search in the left visual field in patients with hemispatial neglect. Vision Res 2010; 50:1426-35. [DOI: 10.1016/j.visres.2010.03.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2009] [Revised: 02/02/2010] [Accepted: 03/01/2010] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
|
46
|
The when and where of spatial storage in memory-guided saccades. Neuroimage 2010; 52:1611-20. [PMID: 20493955 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2010.05.039] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/22/2009] [Revised: 02/12/2010] [Accepted: 05/13/2010] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
The memory-guided saccade paradigm is an ideal experimental model for studying spatial working memory. Both the posterior parietal cortex and frontal cortex are known to play a role in working memory; however, there is much debate about the degree of their involvement in the retention of information. We used event-related potentials and electromagnetic tomography to clarify the precise time course and location of the neural correlates of spatial working memory during a memory-guided saccade task in humans. We observed sustained activity in the inferior parietal lobe and extrastriate areas that persisted for the entire duration of the sensory- and memory-phases. This time course reveals that these regions participate in both initial sensory processing of visual cues and in the short-term maintenance of spatial location memory. Similar sustained activation was also observed in the anterior cingulate cortex, probably reflecting attentive control during the task. Differential activity between conditions was also recorded in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and in the frontal eye fields, but only during the initial part of the memory-phase. This finding suggests that these areas are not involved in the storage of spatial information, but rather in response selection and in transformation of spatial information into a motor coordinate framework, respectively. By exploiting techniques that provide exquisite temporal resolution and reasonably precise anatomical localization, this study provides evidence supporting the key role of inferior parietal lobe in the storage of spatial information during a working memory guided saccade.
Collapse
|
47
|
Noudoost B, Chang MH, Steinmetz NA, Moore T. Top-down control of visual attention. Curr Opin Neurobiol 2010; 20:183-90. [PMID: 20303256 PMCID: PMC2901796 DOI: 10.1016/j.conb.2010.02.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 234] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2009] [Revised: 02/05/2010] [Accepted: 02/09/2010] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Top-down visual attention improves perception of selected stimuli and that improvement is reflected in the neural activity at many stages throughout the visual system. Recent studies of top-down attention have elaborated on the signatures of its effects within visual cortex and have begun identifying its causal basis. Evidence from these studies suggests that the correlates of spatial attention exhibited by neurons within the visual system originate from a distributed network of structures involved in the programming of saccadic eye movements. We summarize this evidence and discuss its relationship to the neural mechanisms of spatial working memory.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Behrad Noudoost
- Department of Neurobiology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305
| | - Mindy H. Chang
- Department of Neurobiology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305
| | - Nicholas A. Steinmetz
- Department of Neurobiology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305
| | - Tirin Moore
- Department of Neurobiology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305
| |
Collapse
|
48
|
Munneke J, Heslenfeld DJ, Theeuwes J. Spatial working memory effects in early visual cortex. Brain Cogn 2010; 72:368-77. [PMID: 19962813 DOI: 10.1016/j.bandc.2009.11.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/11/2009] [Revised: 09/22/2009] [Accepted: 11/02/2009] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
|
49
|
Weaver SM, Arrington CM. What's on your mind: The influence of the contents of working memory on choice. Q J Exp Psychol (Hove) 2010; 63:726-37. [DOI: 10.1080/17470210903137180] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
Information maintained in working memory (WM) has the potential to bias selective attention and limit executive attention. The current study assessed the influence of information in WM on the tasks one chooses to perform in a multitasking environment. Participants held either identities or locations in WM while performing voluntary task-switching trials on stimuli that did or did not match the information they were attempting to maintain. A bias toward performing the task associated with stimuli that had recently been encoded into WM was found. The results suggest that information in WM can influence choice within a multitasking environment.
Collapse
|
50
|
Belopolsky AV, Theeuwes J. No functional role of attention-based rehearsal in maintenance of spatial working memory representations. Acta Psychol (Amst) 2009; 132:124-35. [PMID: 19233339 DOI: 10.1016/j.actpsy.2009.01.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2008] [Revised: 12/18/2008] [Accepted: 01/14/2009] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
The present study systematically examined the role of attention in maintenance of spatial representations in working memory as proposed by the attention-based rehearsal hypothesis [Awh, E., Jonides, J., & Reuter-Lorenz, P. A. (1998). Rehearsal in spatial working memory. Journal of Experimental Psychology--Human Perception and Performance, 24(3), 780-790]. Three main issues were examined. First, Experiments 1-3 demonstrated that inhibition and not facilitation of visual processing is often observed at the memorized location during the retention interval. This inhibition was caused by keeping a location in memory and not by the exogenous nature of the memory cue. Second, Experiment 4 showed that inhibition of the memorized location does not lead to any significant impairment in memory accuracy. Finally, Experiment 5 connected current results to the previous findings and demonstrated facilitation of processing at the memorized location. Importantly, facilitation of processing did not lead to more accurate memory performance. The present results challenge the functional role of attention in maintenance of spatial working memory representations.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Artem V Belopolsky
- Department of Cognitive Psychology, Vrije Universiteit, Van der Boechorststraat 1, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
| | | |
Collapse
|