Working memory capacity modulates expectancy-based strategic processing: Behavioral and electrophysiological evidence

Fernández, Sergio; Ortells, Juan J.; Kiefer, Markus; Noguera, Carmen; Fockert, Jan W. de

doi:10.1016/j.biopsycho.2021.108023

Cited by 5 publications

(3 citation statements)

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“…A smaller N2 was found for negative distractors compared to positive distractors in both age groups. The N2 amplitude reflects attentional conflict processing, which is more negative for conflict trials compared to non-conflict trials [ 33 , 64 ]. Previous studies of young adults also found smaller interference from negative distractors than positive distractors [ 58 ], and N2 was smaller for angry faces than happy faces [ 65 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Aging and distractor resistance in working memory: Does emotional valence matter?

et al. 2022

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Background Emotional stimuli used as targets of working memory (WM) tasks can moderate age-related differences in WM performance, showing that aging is associated with reductions in negativity bias. This phenomenon is referred to as the positivity effect. However, there is little research on whether emotional distractors have a similar moderating effect. Moreover, the underlying neural mechanism of this effect has not been studied. In this study, we examined the behavioral and neurophysiological basis for age differences in resistance to emotional distractors within WM. Methods Older adults (n = 30, ages 60–74) and young adults (n = 35, ages 19–26) performed a 2-back task in which a digit was superimposed on a face with a happy, angry, or neutral expression as a distractor. Event-related potential (ERP) was simultaneously recorded to assess P2, N2, and later positive potential (LPP) amplitudes. Results Older adults were less accurate and slower than young adults on the WM task. Moreover, the results demonstrated a significant interaction between age and emotional valence on response accuracy, young adults' performance was worse when the distractor was neutral or positive than when it was negative, but there was no effect of the emotional valence of distractors on older adults’ WM performance. ERP analyses revealed greater P2 amplitude in older adults than young adults, regardless of the emotional valence of distractors. However, older adults and young adults did not differ on N2 or LPP amplitude, and negative distractors elicited greater N2 than positive distractors in both age groups. Conclusions The behavioral findings provided evidence of age-related reductions in negativity bias. Thus, the behavioral measures indicated a positivity effect in WM. However, the ERP results did not show this same interaction. These discrepant results raise questions about whether and to what extent older and young adults differ in controlling the effect of emotional distractors in WM.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Aging and distractor resistance in working memory: Does emotional valence matter?

et al. 2022

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“…The WMC was also assessed using the Change Localization Task, which proved to be a useful tool to disclose WMC cognitive differences in multiple previous studies ( Johnson et al, 2013 ; Noguera et al, 2019 ; Castillo et al, 2020 ; Fernández et al, 2021 ). In our study, higher WMC was related to better rejection rates in position trials regardless of the sex factor.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In order to assess the working memory capacity (WMC) at a behavioral level (no EEG registry), the Change Localization Task ( Johnson et al, 2013 ; Noguera et al, 2019 ; Castillo et al, 2020 ; Fernández et al, 2021 ) was used. The task was designed using the e-Prime 2.0 software (Psychology Software Tools).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spatial Recognition Memory: Differential Brain Strategic Activation According to Sex

Castilló

Carmona

Commins

et al. 2021

Front. Behav. Neurosci.

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Human spatial memory research has significantly progressed since the development of computerized tasks, with many studies examining sex-related performances. However, few studies explore the underlying electrophysiological correlates according to sex. In this study event-related potentials were compared between male and female participants during the performance of an allocentric spatial recognition task. Twenty-nine university students took part in the research. Results showed that while general performance was similar in both sexes, the brain of males and females displayed a differential activation. Males showed increased N200 modulation than females in the three phases of memory process (encoding, maintenance, and retrieval). Meanwhile females showed increased activation of P300 in the three phases of memory process compared to males. In addition, females exhibited more negative slow wave (NSW) activity during the encoding phase. These differences are discussed in terms of attentional control and the allocation of attentional resources during spatial processing. Our findings demonstrate that sex modulates the resources recruited to performed this spatial task.

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Priming of natural scene categorization during continuous flash suppression

Baumann

Valuch

2022

Consciousness and Cognition

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Working memory capacity modulates expectancy-based strategic processing: Behavioral and electrophysiological evidence

Cited by 5 publications

References 55 publications

Aging and distractor resistance in working memory: Does emotional valence matter?

Aging and distractor resistance in working memory: Does emotional valence matter?

Spatial Recognition Memory: Differential Brain Strategic Activation According to Sex

Priming of natural scene categorization during continuous flash suppression

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