Working memory representations are spatially transferred in cortex during mental manipulations

Chernik, Charles; van den Berg, Ronald; Lundqvist, Mikael

doi:10.1101/2024.02.27.582343

Cited by 1 publication

(1 citation statement)

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“…Several recent studies have made clear how, once visual information has been encoded into working memory, the use of spatial location as a scaffold for memory individuation and selection is not necessarily veridical, but can be flexibly updated. For example, spatial organisation in visual working memory can be transformed [17][18][19][20][21][22][23] , compressed 24 , and engage additional spatial frames of reference 19,25,26 . This flexible nature of working memory -in which information can be re-coded from its native format at encoding (see also 23,[27][28][29][30][31][32][33] ) -provides the opportunity to tune the spatial scaffolding for working memory to the task in an adaptive and efficient manner.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sparse spatial scaffolding for visual working memory

Liu

Alexopoulou

Zonneveld

et al. 2023

Preprint

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Selective attention enables the prioritisation of task-relevant visual information, including among internal contents in working memory. Studies targeting the foundational mechanisms of covert selective attention often consider situations where to-be-attended and to-be-ignored visual contents are presented or memorised in distinct directions from fixation — rendering direction sufficient for covert selection. Yet, in everyday life, direction alone is typically insufficient for selection because multiple potential objects of attention compete along any given direction. To gain insight into the mechanisms of covert attention when direction is sufficient versus insufficient for selection, we cued participants to select memorised visual items that were encoded near or far from fixation while manipulating whether direction was sufficient (no competition along direction) or insufficient (competition along direction) for selection. To uncover the nature of spatial coding for covert attention, we tapped into directional biasing of fixational gaze behaviour as a non-invasive read-out of the brain's oculomotor system — a brain system widely recognised for its contribution to covert attention. This unveiled the principle of 'efficient spatial coding' whereby covert internal selective attention considers just direction when sufficient and considers the distance of the attended target only when necessary.

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