EEG and pupillometric signatures of working memory overload

Kosachenko, Alexandra; Kasanov, Dauren; Kotyusov, Alexander; Pavlov, Yuri G.

doi:10.1111/psyp.14275

Cited by 14 publications

(30 citation statements)

References 130 publications

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“…Moreover, tasks that involved retaining and manipulating more memory items also showed an increase in theta power. Altogether these findings support the idea that theta activity is linked to executive control with more complex mental manipulations (Berger et al, 2014;Griesmayr et al, 2010) and higher memory load (Kosachenko et al, 2023) requiring stronger theta engagement.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 80%

Theta transcranial alternating current stimulation is not effective in improving working memory performance

Kasanov,

Dorogina,

Mushtaq

et al. 2024

Preprint

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Extensive research has established a significant relationship between frontal midline theta (FMT) activity in the 4-8 Hz range and working memory (WM) performance. Transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) is recognized for inducing lasting changes in brain oscillatory activity. Across two experiments, we tested the possibility that WM could be improved through tACS stimulation of dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC) and anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), by affecting executive control networks associated with FMT. In Experiment 1, following either a 20-minute verum or sham stimulation applied to Fpz-CPz at 1 mA and 6 Hz, 31 participants performed WM tasks, while EEG was recorded. The task required participants to either mentally manipulate memory items or retain them in memory as they were originally presented. No significant effects were observed in behavioral performance, and we found no change in theta activity during rest and task following stimulation. However, alpha activity during retention or manipulation of information in WM was less strongly enhanced following verum stimulation as compared with sham. In Experiment 2 (N = 25), tACS was administered during and after the task in two separate sessions. Here, we changed the order of the stimulation blocks: a 25-minute task block was either accompanied first by sham stimulation and then by verum stimulation, or vice versa. Taken together, our results show no improvements in WM performance through tACS after-effects or online stimulation and demonstrate that theta frequency tACS applied at the midline is not an effective method for enhancing WM performance.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 80%

Theta transcranial alternating current stimulation is not effective in improving working memory performance

Kasanov,

Dorogina,

Mushtaq

et al. 2024

Preprint

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“…Whenever task demands become too high, observers experience “overload” and give up on the task. Giving up is accompanied by drops in pupillary dilation indicating reduced exerted effort (Granholm et al, 1996; Kahneman, 1973), which is in line with inverted‐U patterns in frontal and parietal activity with increased task load (Kosachenko et al, 2023; Leung et al, 2004; Linden et al, 2003) (also see Ma et al, 2014). Such pupillary dilation effects during maintenance may be informative regarding the format of VWM representations (i.e., slots (Luck & Vogel, 1997, 2013; Zhang & Luck, 2008) vs. resources accounts (Bays & Husain, 2008; Ma et al, 2014)).…”

Section: Maintenancementioning

confidence: 63%

“…Such pupillary dilation effects during maintenance may be informative regarding the format of VWM representations (i.e., slots (Luck & Vogel, 1997, 2013; Zhang & Luck, 2008) vs. resources accounts (Bays & Husain, 2008; Ma et al, 2014)). Although direct studies into this issue remain scarce, some work has provided indirect indications into this debate without strong support for either account (see Kosachenko et al, 2023; Kursawe & Zimmer, 2015; Zhou et al, 2022). Targeted studies are necessary to reveal how pupillometry may inform about the format of VWM representations.…”

Section: Maintenancementioning

confidence: 99%

Revealing visual working memory operations with pupillometry: Encoding, maintenance, and prioritization

Koevoet,

Strauch,

Van der Stigchel

et al. 2023

WIRES Cognitive Science

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Pupillary dynamics reflect effects of distinct and important operations of visual working memory: encoding, maintenance, and prioritization. Here, we review how pupil size predicts memory performance and how it provides novel insights into the mechanisms of each operation. Visual information must first be encoded into working memory with sufficient precision. The depth of this encoding process couples to arousal‐linked baseline pupil size as well as a pupil constriction response before and after stimulus onset, respectively. Subsequently, the encoded information is maintained over time to ensure it is not lost. Pupil dilation reflects the effortful maintenance of information, wherein storing more items is accompanied by larger dilations. Lastly, the most task‐relevant information is prioritized to guide upcoming behavior, which is reflected in yet another dilatory component. Moreover, activated content in memory can be pupillometrically probed directly by tagging visual information with distinct luminance levels. Through this luminance‐tagging mechanism, pupil light responses reveal whether dark or bright items receive more attention during encoding and prioritization. Together, conceptualizing pupil responses as a sum of distinct components over time reveals insights into operations of visual working memory. From this viewpoint, pupillometry is a promising avenue to study the most vital operations through which visual working memory works.This article is categorized under: Psychology > Attention Psychology > Memory Psychology > Theory and Methods

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“…Before the WM task, we recorded 4 minutes of eyes-closed resting state ECG and PPG. After that, the participants were given instructions and proceeded with the WM task (see Figure 1; for a more detailed description of the task see Kosachenko et al (2023)). In this task, participants were either required to memorize sequences of 5, 9, or 13 digits (memory condition) or to listen to them (control condition) without trying to memorize them.…”

Section: Task and Proceduresmentioning

confidence: 99%

Task-evoked pulse wave amplitude tracks cognitive load

Pavlov

Gashkova

Kasanov

et al. 2023

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Mental workload is a crucial factor in cognitively demanding activities and holds significance across various research fields. This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of pulse wave amplitude (PWA) as a measure for tracking cognitive load and associated mental effort in comparison to heart rate (HR) during a digit span task. The data from 78 participants were included in the analyses. Participants performed a memory task in which they were asked to memorize sequences of 5, 9, or 13 digits, and a control task where they passively listened to the sequences. PWA and HR were quantified from photoplethysmography (PPG) and electrocardiography (ECG), respectively. Pupil dilation was also assessed as a measure of cognitive load. We found that PWA showed a strong suppression with increasing memory load, indicating sensitivity to cognitive load. In contrast, HR did not show significant changes with task difficulty. Moreover, when memory load exceeded the capacity of working memory, a reversal of the PWA pattern was observed, indicating cognitive overload. In this respect, changes in PWA in response to cognitive load correlated with the dynamics of pupil dilation, suggesting a potential shared underlying mechanism. Additionally, both HR and PWA demonstrated a relationship with behavioral performance, with higher task-evoked HR and lower PWA associated with better memory performance. Our findings suggest that PWA is a more sensitive measure than HR for tracking cognitive load and overload. PWA, measured through PPG, holds significant potential for practical applications in assessing cognitive load due to its ease of use and sensitivity to cognitive overload. The findings contribute to the understanding of psychophysiological indicators of cognitive load and offer insights into the use of PWA as a non-invasive measure in various contexts.

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EEG and pupillometric signatures of working memory overload

Abstract: This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Cited by 14 publications

References 130 publications

Theta transcranial alternating current stimulation is not effective in improving working memory performance

Theta transcranial alternating current stimulation is not effective in improving working memory performance

Revealing visual working memory operations with pupillometry: Encoding, maintenance, and prioritization

Task-evoked pulse wave amplitude tracks cognitive load

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