Markers of preparatory attention predict visual short-term memory performance.

Visual short-term memory (VSTM) is limited in capacity. Therefore, it is important to encode only visual information that is most likely to be relevant to behaviour. Here we asked which aspects of selective biasing of VSTM encoding predict subsequent memory-based performance. We measured EEG during...

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Main Authors: Murray, A, Nobre, A, Stokes, M
Format: Journal article
Language:English
Published: 2011
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author Murray, A
Nobre, A
Stokes, M
author_facet Murray, A
Nobre, A
Stokes, M
author_sort Murray, A
collection OXFORD
description Visual short-term memory (VSTM) is limited in capacity. Therefore, it is important to encode only visual information that is most likely to be relevant to behaviour. Here we asked which aspects of selective biasing of VSTM encoding predict subsequent memory-based performance. We measured EEG during a selective VSTM encoding task, in which we varied parametrically the memory load and the precision of recall required to compare a remembered item to a subsequent probe item. On half the trials, a spatial cue indicated that participants only needed to encode items from one hemifield. We observed a typical sequence of markers of anticipatory spatial attention: early attention directing negativity (EDAN), anterior attention directing negativity (ADAN), late directing attention positivity (LDAP); as well as of VSTM maintenance: contralateral delay activity (CDA). We found that individual differences in preparatory brain activity (EDAN/ADAN) predicted cue-related changes in recall accuracy, indexed by memory-probe discrimination sensitivity (d'). Importantly, our parametric manipulation of memory-probe similarity also allowed us to model the behavioural data for each participant, providing estimates for the quality of the memory representation and the probability that an item could be retrieved. We found that selective encoding primarily increased the probability of accurate memory recall; that ERP markers of preparatory attention predicted the cue-related changes in recall probability.
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spelling oxford-uuid:5c5cf005-615c-48a5-af46-f5e67f4a46de2022-03-26T17:27:48ZMarkers of preparatory attention predict visual short-term memory performance.Journal articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_dcae04bcuuid:5c5cf005-615c-48a5-af46-f5e67f4a46deEnglishSymplectic Elements at Oxford2011Murray, ANobre, AStokes, MVisual short-term memory (VSTM) is limited in capacity. Therefore, it is important to encode only visual information that is most likely to be relevant to behaviour. Here we asked which aspects of selective biasing of VSTM encoding predict subsequent memory-based performance. We measured EEG during a selective VSTM encoding task, in which we varied parametrically the memory load and the precision of recall required to compare a remembered item to a subsequent probe item. On half the trials, a spatial cue indicated that participants only needed to encode items from one hemifield. We observed a typical sequence of markers of anticipatory spatial attention: early attention directing negativity (EDAN), anterior attention directing negativity (ADAN), late directing attention positivity (LDAP); as well as of VSTM maintenance: contralateral delay activity (CDA). We found that individual differences in preparatory brain activity (EDAN/ADAN) predicted cue-related changes in recall accuracy, indexed by memory-probe discrimination sensitivity (d'). Importantly, our parametric manipulation of memory-probe similarity also allowed us to model the behavioural data for each participant, providing estimates for the quality of the memory representation and the probability that an item could be retrieved. We found that selective encoding primarily increased the probability of accurate memory recall; that ERP markers of preparatory attention predicted the cue-related changes in recall probability.
spellingShingle Murray, A
Nobre, A
Stokes, M
Markers of preparatory attention predict visual short-term memory performance.
title Markers of preparatory attention predict visual short-term memory performance.
title_full Markers of preparatory attention predict visual short-term memory performance.
title_fullStr Markers of preparatory attention predict visual short-term memory performance.
title_full_unstemmed Markers of preparatory attention predict visual short-term memory performance.
title_short Markers of preparatory attention predict visual short-term memory performance.
title_sort markers of preparatory attention predict visual short term memory performance
work_keys_str_mv AT murraya markersofpreparatoryattentionpredictvisualshorttermmemoryperformance
AT nobrea markersofpreparatoryattentionpredictvisualshorttermmemoryperformance
AT stokesm markersofpreparatoryattentionpredictvisualshorttermmemoryperformance