Working memory capacity and its relation to general intelligence

Quantifying the variability of neural activation in working memory: A functional probabilistic atlas

Working memory is a fundamental cognitive ability that allows the maintenance and manipulation of information for a brief period of time. Previous studies found a set of brain regions activated during working memory tasks, such as the prefrontal and parietal cortex. However, little is known about the variability of neural activation in working memory. Here, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging to quantify individual, hemispheric, and sex differences of working memory activation in a large cohort of healthy adults (N = 477). We delineated subject-specific activated regions in each individual, including the frontal pole, middle frontal gyrus, frontal eye field, superior parietal lobule, insular, precuneus, and anterior cingulate cortex. A functional probabilistic atlas was created to quantify individual variability in working memory regions. More than 90% of the participants activated all seven regions in both hemispheres, but the intersection of regions across participants was markedly less (50%), indicating significant individual differences in working memory activations. Moreover, we found hemispheric and sex differences in activation location, extent, and magnitude. Most activation regions were larger in the right than in the left hemisphere, but the magnitude of activation did not follow a similar pattern. Men showed more extensive and stronger activations than women. Taken together, our functional probabilistic atlas quantified variabilities of neural activation in working memory, providing a robust spatial reference for standardization of functional localization.

The neural-vascular basis of age-related processing speed decline

Most studies examining neurocognitive aging are based on the blood-oxygen level-dependent signal obtained during functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). The physiological basis of this signal is neural-vascular coupling, the process by which neurons signal cerebrovasculature to dilate in response to an increase in active neural metabolism due to stimulation. These fMRI studies of aging rely on the hemodynamic equivalence assumption that this process is not disrupted by physiologic deterioration associated with aging. Studies of neural-vascular coupling challenge this assumption and show that neural-vascular coupling is closely related to cognition. In this review, we put forward a theory of processing speed decline in aging and how it is related to age-related neural-vascular coupling changes based on the results of studies elucidating the relationships between cognition, cerebrovascular dynamics, and aging.

Balancing Flexibility and Interference in Working Memory

Working memory is central to cognition, flexibly holding the variety of thoughts needed for complex behavior. Yet, despite its importance, working memory has a severely limited capacity, holding only three to four items at once. In this article, I review experimental and computational evidence that the flexibility and limited capacity of working memory reflect the same underlying neural mechanism. I argue that working memory relies on interactions between high-dimensional, integrative representations in the prefrontal cortex and structured representations in the sensory cortex. Together, these interactions allow working memory to flexibly maintain arbitrary representations. However, the distributed nature of working memory comes at the cost of causing interference between items in memory, resulting in a limited capacity. Finally, I discuss several mechanisms used by the brain to reduce interference and maximize the effective capacity of working memory. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Vision Science, Volume 7 is September 2021. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.

Change by challenge: A common genetic basis behind childhood cognitive development and cognitive training

The interplay of genetic and environmental factors behind cognitive development has preoccupied multiple fields of science and sparked heated debates over the decades. Here we tested the hypothesis that developmental genes rely heavily on cognitive challenges-as opposed to natural maturation. Starting with a polygenic score (cogPGS) that previously explained variation in cognitive performance in adults, we estimated its effect in 344 children and adolescents (mean age of 12 years old, ranging from 6 to 25) who showed changes in working memory (WM) in two distinct samples: (1) a developmental sample showing significant WM gains after 2 years of typical, age-related development, and (2) a training sample showing significant, experimentally-induced WM gains after 25 days of an intense WM training. We found that the same genetic factor, cogPGS, significantly explained the amount of WM gain in both samples. And there was no interaction of cogPGS with sample, suggesting that those genetic factors are neutral to whether the WM gains came from development or training. These results represent evidence that cognitive challenges are a central piece in the gene-environment interplay during cognitive development. We believe our study sheds new light on previous findings of interindividual differences in education (rich-get-richer and compensation effects), brain plasticity in children, and the heritability increase of intelligence across the lifespan.

Effect of Auditory Distraction on Working Memory, Attention Switching, and Listening Comprehension

The effect of non-informational speech spectrum noise as a distractor on cognitive and listening comprehension ability was examined in fifty-three young, normal hearing adults. Time-controlled tasks were used to measure auditory working memory (WM) capacity and attention switching (AS) ability. Listening comprehension was measured using a lecture, interview, and spoken narratives test. Noise level was individually set to achieve at least 90% or higher speech intelligibility. Participants' listening comprehension in the presence of distracting noise was better on inference questions compared to listening in quiet. Their speed of information processing was also significantly faster in WM and AS tasks in noise. These results were consistent with the view that noise may enhance arousal levels leading to faster information processing during cognitive tasks. Whereas the speed of AS was faster in noise, this rapid switching of attention resulted in more errors in updating items. Participants who processed information faster in noise and did so accurately, more effectively switched their attention to refresh/rehearse recall items within WM. More efficient processing deployed in the presence of noise appeared to have led to improvements in WM performance and making inferences in a listening comprehension task. Additional research is required to examine these findings using background noise that can cause informational masking.

Neuropsychological effect of working memory capacity on mental rotation under hypoxia environment

High-altitude exposure induces the decline of spatial manipulation such as mental rotation which is limited by working memory capacity, but the underlying neuropsychological effect remains to be identified. We evaluated the mental rotation task and the contralateral delay activity (CDA) task under hypoxia environment using the event-related potential. When compared with the controls, the behavior response was slowed on two tasks in the high-altitude group. The declined mental rotation and the decreased working memory capacity were synchronously related to the amplitudes of P50 and CDA, respectively. The P50 during mental rotation was positively correlated to that of rotation-related negativity (RRN) component, so was with the CDA. Time-frequency analysis showed that the beta/alpha power in mental rotation and the theta/alpha/beta power in CDA were enhanced in the high-altitude group. The present study might suggest that the decline of working memory capacity induced poor performance of mental rotation, which may be derived from a bottom-up sensory gating deficit reflected by P50.

Perceptual, Attentional, and Executive Functioning After Real-Time Strategy Video Game Training: Efficacy and Relation to In-Game Behavior

Recent meta-analyses and meta-analytic reviews of most common approaches to cognitive training broadly converge on describing a lack of transfer effects past the trained task. This also extends to the more recent attempts at using video games to improve cognitive abilities, bringing into question if they have any true effects on cognitive functioning at all. Despite this, video game training studies are slowly beginning to accumulate and provide evidence of replicable improvements. Our study aimed to train non-video game playing individuals in the real-time strategy video game StarCraft II in order to observe any subsequent changes to perceptual, attentional, and executive functioning. Thirty hours of StarCraft II training resulted in improvements to perceptual and attentional abilities, but not executive functioning. This pattern of results is in line with previous research on the more frequently investigated “action” video games. By splitting the StarCraft II training group into two conditions of “fixed” and “variable” training, we were also able to demonstrate that manipulating the video game environment produces measurable differences in the amount of cognitive improvement. Lastly, by extracting in-game behavior features from recordings of each participant’s gameplay, we were able to show a direct correlation between in-game behavior change and cognitive performance change after training. These findings highlight and support the growing trend of more finely detailed and methodologically rigorous approaches to studying the relationship between video games and cognitive functioning.

Working Memory in Pediatric Epilepsy: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Working memory is a multicomponent system that is supported by overlapping specialized networks in the brain. Baddeley's working memory model includes four components: the phonological loop, visuo-spatial sketchpad, the central executive, and episodic buffer. The aim of this review was to establish the gravity and pattern of working memory deficits in pediatric epilepsy. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement guided electronic searches. Sixty-five studies were included in the review. Meta-analyses revealed significant impairments across each working memory component: phonological loop (g = 0.739), visuo-spatial sketchpad (g = 0.521), and central executive (g = 0.560) in children with epilepsy compared to controls. The episodic buffer was not examined. The pattern of impairments, however, differed according to the site and side of seizure focus. This suggests that working memory components are differentially vulnerable to the location of seizure focus in the developing brain.

Modeling Working Memory in a Spiking Neuron Network Accompanied by Astrocytes

We propose a novel biologically plausible computational model of working memory (WM) implemented by a spiking neuron network (SNN) interacting with a network of astrocytes. The SNN is modeled by synaptically coupled Izhikevich neurons with a non-specific architecture connection topology. Astrocytes generating calcium signals are connected by local gap junction diffusive couplings and interact with neurons via chemicals diffused in the extracellular space. Calcium elevations occur in response to the increased concentration of the neurotransmitter released by spiking neurons when a group of them fire coherently. In turn, gliotransmitters are released by activated astrocytes modulating the strength of the synaptic connections in the corresponding neuronal group. Input information is encoded as two-dimensional patterns of short applied current pulses stimulating neurons. The output is taken from frequencies of transient discharges of corresponding neurons. We show how a set of information patterns with quite significant overlapping areas can be uploaded into the neuron-astrocyte network and stored for several seconds. Information retrieval is organized by the application of a cue pattern representing one from the memory set distorted by noise. We found that successful retrieval with the level of the correlation between the recalled pattern and ideal pattern exceeding 90% is possible for the multi-item WM task. Having analyzed the dynamical mechanism of WM formation, we discovered that astrocytes operating at a time scale of a dozen of seconds can successfully store traces of neuronal activations corresponding to information patterns. In the retrieval stage, the astrocytic network selectively modulates synaptic connections in the SNN leading to successful recall. Information and dynamical characteristics of the proposed WM model agrees with classical concepts and other WM models.

A Connectomic Hypothesis for the Hominization of the Brain

Cognitive abilities of the human brain, including language, have expanded dramatically in the course of our recent evolution from nonhuman primates, despite only minor apparent changes at the gene level. The hypothesis we propose for this paradox relies upon fundamental features of human brain connectivity, which contribute to a characteristic anatomical, functional, and computational neural phenotype, offering a parsimonious framework for connectomic changes taking place upon the human-specific evolution of the genome. Many human connectomic features might be accounted for by substantially increased brain size within the global neural architecture of the primate brain, resulting in a larger number of neurons and areas and the sparsification, increased modularity, and laminar differentiation of cortical connections. The combination of these features with the developmental expansion of upper cortical layers, prolonged postnatal brain development, and multiplied nongenetic interactions with the physical, social, and cultural environment gives rise to categorically human-specific cognitive abilities including the recursivity of language. Thus, a small set of genetic regulatory events affecting quantitative gene expression may plausibly account for the origins of human brain connectivity and cognition.

Adult bilinguals outperform monolinguals in theory of mind

Theory of mind (ToM) is an essential ability for social competence and communication, and it is necessary for understanding behaviours that differ from our own. Research on bilingual children has reported that 3- and 4-year-old bilinguals outperform monolinguals in ToM tasks. Research suggests that adult bilinguals also might outperform monolinguals; nevertheless, this effect has yet to be established. Here, we tested bilingual and monolingual adults on the director task. Results showed that bilingual adults outperformed monolinguals in response to perspective-dependent trials of the director task, but not in response to control trials. This suggests that bilingualism is associated with individuals' ability to take into account the perspective of another person. In addition, the number of cultures that participants were exposed to, regardless of whether the participant was bilingual or not, was also associated with ToM performance. Overall, the findings suggest that linguistic and cultural experience have an impact on ToM.

Is baseline pupil size related to cognitive ability? Yes (under proper lighting conditions)

There has been some controversy as to whether baseline pupil size is related to individual differences in cognitive ability. Previously, we had shown that a larger baseline pupil size was associated with higher cognitive ability and that the correlation to fluid intelligence was larger than that to working memory capacity (Tsukahara, Harrison, & Engle, 2016). However, other researchers have not been able to replicate our findings - though they only measured working memory capacity and not fluid intelligence. Many of the studies showing no relationship had major methodological issues, namely small baseline pupil size values - down to the physiological minimum - that resulted in reduced variability on baseline pupil size. We conducted two large-scale studies to investigate how different lighting conditions affect baseline pupil size values and the correlation with cognitive abilities. We found that fluid intelligence, working memory capacity, and attention control did correlate with baseline pupil size except in the brightest lighting conditions. We showed that a reduced variability in baseline pupil size values is due to the monitor settings being too bright. Overall, our findings demonstrated that the baseline pupil size - working memory capacity relationship was not as strong or robust as that with fluid intelligence or attention control. Our findings have strong methodological implications for researchers investigating individual differences in task-free or task-evoked pupil size. We conclude that fluid intelligence does correlate with baseline pupil size and that this is related to the functional organization of the resting-state brain through the locus coeruleus-norepinephrine system.

Temporal Dynamics of Functional Brain States Underlie Cognitive Performance

The functional organization of the human brain adapts dynamically in response to a rapidly changing environment. However, the relation of these rapid changes in functional organization to cognitive functioning is not well understood. This study used a graph-based time-frame modularity analysis approach to identify temporally recurrent functional configuration patterns in neural responses to an n-back working memory task during fMRI. Working memory load was manipulated to investigate the functional relevance of the identified brain states. Four distinct brain states were defined by the predominant patterns of activation in the task-positive, default-mode, sensorimotor, and visual networks. Associated with escalating working memory load, the occurrence of the task-positive state and the probability of transitioning into this state increased. In contrast, the occurrence of the default-mode and sensorimotor states and the probability of these 2 states transitioning away from the task-positive state decreased. The task-positive state occurrence rate and the probability of transitioning from the default-mode state back to the task-positive state explained a significant and unique portion of the variance in task performance. The results demonstrate that dynamic brain activities support successful cognitive functioning and may have heuristic value for understanding abnormal cognitive functioning associated with multiple neuropsychiatric disorders.

Prospective associations between intelligence, working memory capacity, and intrusive memories of a traumatic film: Potential mediating effects of rumination and memory disorganization

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

Field research indicates that lower intelligence may predispose trauma-exposed individuals towards the development of re-experiencing symptoms. However, this assumption requires further testing in controlled prospective studies. In the current analog study, we tested whether lower fluid intelligence and lower working memory capacity (WMC) independently contribute to intrusion development. Moreover, we investigated potential mediating effects of trauma memory characteristics and trait rumination.

METHODS

118 healthy participants completed tests measuring fluid intelligence and WMC. Two days later, they were exposed to a film clip depicting traumatic events (i.e., so-called trauma film). After exposure to the film, intrusions were assessed using a diary and an intrusion triggering task.

RESULTS

Our analyses revealed a negative correlation between fluid intelligence and intrusions during the intrusion triggering task. WMC did not correlate with any intrusion measure. Moreover, planned analyses did not yield any mediation effects.

LIMITATIONS

We used the trauma film paradigm to examine analog posttraumatic stress symptoms. This approach limits the generalizability of our findings with regard to symptom development following real-life traumatic events.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results show for the first time that higher fluid intelligence is associated with fewer intrusions of a trauma film. This association was evident for laboratory but not for ambulatory intrusions. By demonstrating this association using a prospective experimental design, our study importantly corroborates previous field research.

Distraction in Visual Working Memory: Resistance is Not Futile

Over half a century of research focused on understanding how working memory is capacity constrained has overshadowed the fact that it is also remarkably resistant to interference. Protecting goal-relevant information from distraction is a cornerstone of cognitive function that involves a multifaceted collection of control processes and storage mechanisms. Here, we discuss recent advances in cognitive psychology and neuroscience that have produced new insights into the nature of visual working memory and its ability to resist distraction. We propose that distraction resistance should be an explicit component in any model of working memory and that understanding its behavioral and neural correlates is essential for building a comprehensive understanding of real-world memory function.

Reliability, sensitivity, and predictive value of fMRI during multiple object tracking as a marker of cognitive training gain in combination with tDCS in stroke survivors

Computerized cognitive training (CCT) combined with transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) has showed some promise in alleviating cognitive impairments in patients with brain disorders, but the robustness and possible mechanisms are unclear. In this prospective double-blind randomized clinical trial, we investigated the feasibility and effectiveness of combining CCT and tDCS, and tested the predictive value of and training-related changes in fMRI-based brain activation during attentive performance (multiple object tracking) obtained at inclusion, before initiating training, and after the three-weeks intervention in chronic stroke patients (>6 months since hospital admission). Patients were randomized to one of two groups, receiving CCT and either (a) tDCS targeting left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (1 mA), or (b) sham tDCS, with 40s active stimulation (1 mA) before fade out of the current. Of note, 77 patients were enrolled in the study, 54 completed the cognitive training, and 48 completed all training and MRI sessions. We found significant improvement in performance across all trained tasks, but no additional gain of tDCS. fMRI-based brain activation showed high reliability, and higher cognitive performance was associated with increased tracking-related activation in the dorsal attention network and default mode network as well as anterior cingulate after compared to before the intervention. We found no significant associations between cognitive gain and brain activation measured before training or in the difference in activation after intervention. Combined, these results show significant training effects on trained cognitive tasks in stroke survivors, with no clear evidence of additional gain of concurrent tDCS.

Compositional memory in attractor neural networks with one-step learning

Compositionality refers to the ability of an intelligent system to construct models out of reusable parts. This is critical for the productivity and generalization of human reasoning, and is considered a necessary ingredient for human-level artificial intelligence. While traditional symbolic methods have proven effective for modeling compositionality, artificial neural networks struggle to learn systematic rules for encoding generalizable structured models. We suggest that this is due in part to short-term memory that is based on persistent maintenance of activity patterns without fast weight changes. We present a recurrent neural network that encodes structured representations as systems of contextually-gated dynamical attractors called attractor graphs. This network implements a functionally compositional working memory that is manipulated using top-down gating and fast local learning. We evaluate this approach with empirical experiments on storage and retrieval of graph-based data structures, as well as an automated hierarchical planning task. Our results demonstrate that compositional structures can be stored in and retrieved from neural working memory without persistent maintenance of multiple activity patterns. Further, memory capacity is improved by the use of a fast store-erase learning rule that permits controlled erasure and mutation of previously learned associations. We conclude that the combination of top-down gating and fast associative learning provides recurrent neural networks with a robust functional mechanism for compositional working memory.

Dynamic functional connectome predicts individual working memory performance across diagnostic categories

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We created transdiagnostic predictive working memory models using connectome-based predictive modeling (CPM).

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Dynamic functional connectivity-based CPM models successfully predicted working memory.

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Static functional connectivity-based CPM models fell short in prediction.

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Frontoparietal, somato-motor, default mode and visual networks contributed most to prediction.

Working memory impairment is a common feature of psychiatric disorders. Although its neural mechanisms have been extensively examined in healthy subjects or individuals with a certain clinical condition, studies investigating neural predictors of working memory in a transdiagnostic sample are scarce. The objective of this study was to create a transdiagnostic predictive working memory model from whole-brain functional connectivity using connectome-based predictive modeling (CPM), a recently developed machine learning approach. Resting-state functional MRI data from 242 subjects across 4 diagnostic categories (healthy controls and individuals with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and attention deficit/hyperactivity) were used to construct dynamic and static functional connectomes. Spatial working memory was assessed by the spatial capacity task. CPM was conducted to predict individual working memory from dynamic and static functional connectivity patterns. Results showed that dynamic connectivity-based CPM models successfully predicted overall working memory capacity and accuracy as well as mean reaction time, yet their static counterparts fell short in the prediction. At the neural level, we found that dynamic connectivity of the frontoparietal and somato-motor networks were negatively correlated with working memory capacity and accuracy, and those of the default mode and visual networks were positively associated with mean reaction time. Moreover, different feature selection thresholds, parcellation strategies and model validation methods as well as diagnostic categories did not significantly influence the prediction results. Our findings not only are coherent with prior reports that dynamic functional connectivity encodes more behavioral information than static connectivity, but also help advance the translation of cognitive “connectome fingerprinting” into real-world application.

The Long-Term Efficacy of Working Memory Training in Healthy Older Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of 22 Randomized Controlled Trials

OBJECTIVES

The long-lasting efficacy of working memory (WM) training has been a controversial and still ardently debated issue. In this meta-analysis, the authors explored the long-term effects of WM training in healthy older adults on WM subdomains and abilities outside the WM domain assessed in randomized controlled studies.

METHOD

A systematic literature search of PubMed, Web of Science, PsycINFO, Cochrane Library, ProQuest, clinicaltrials.gov, and Google Scholar was conducted. Random-effects models were used to quantitatively synthesize the existing data.

RESULTS

Twenty-two eligible studies were included in the meta-analysis. The mean participant age ranged from 63.77 to 80.1 years. The meta-synthesized long-term effects on updating were 0.45 (95% confidence interval = 0.253-0.648, <6 months: 0.395, 0.171-0.619, ≥6 months: 0.641, 0.223-1.058), on shifting, 0.447 (0.246-0.648, <6 months: 0.448, 0.146-0.75, ≥6 months: 0.446, 0.176-0.716); on inhibition, 0.387 (0.228-0.547, <6 months: 0.248, 0.013-0.484, ≥6 months: 0.504, 0.288-0.712); on maintenance, 0.486 (0.352-0.62, <6 months: 0.52, 0.279-0.761, ≥6 months: 0.471, 0.31-0.63).

DISCUSSION

The results showed that WM training exerted robust long-term effects on enhancing the WM system and improving processing speed and reasoning in late adulthood. Future studies are needed to use different tasks of the same WM construct to evaluate the WM training benefits, to adopt more ecological tasks or tasks related to daily life, to improve the external validity of WM training, and to identify the optimal implementation strategy for WM training.

Transfer of working memory training to the inhibitory control of auditory distraction

Extended working memory training with the dual n-back task has been shown to improve performance on various untrained cognitive tasks, but previous findings were inconsistent with regard to the extent of such transfer. The dual n-back training task addresses multiple components of working memory as sequential information from two different stimulus modalities needs to be simultaneously encoded, maintained, continuously monitored and updated in working memory while irrelevant information needs to be inhibited. However, it is unclear which executive functions account for the observed transfer effects. In this study, the degree of inhibitory control required during training was manipulated by comparing two versions of the dual n-back task in which participants are asked to either respond or withhold a response on the less frequent trials when an item was identical to an item n trials back. Eight 80-min sessions of training with adaptive versions of both n-back tasks were shown to improve working memory updating. Moreover, in contrast to the standard n-back task, training on the inhibitory n-back task was found to reduce the interference in working memory produced by task-irrelevant speech. This result suggests that enhanced demand for inhibitory control during training enables transfer to the inhibition of distractor interference, whereas the standard n-back task primarily affects working memory updating. The training effects did not transfer to the inhibition of spatially incompatible responses in a Simon task, and it yielded no far transfer effects to untrained executive functions or measures of fluid intelligence.

EEG microstate features according to performance on a mental arithmetic task

In this study, we hypothesized that task performance could be evaluated applying EEG microstate to mental arithmetic task. This pilot study also aimed at evaluating the efficacy of microstates as novel features to discriminate task performance. Thirty-six subjects were divided into good and poor performers, depending on how well they performed the task. Microstate features were derived from EEG recordings during resting and task states. In the good performers, there was a decrease in type C and an increase in type D features during the task compared to the resting state. Mean duration and occurrence decreased and increased, respectively. In the poor performers, occurrence of type D feature, mean duration and occurrence showed greater changes. We investigated whether microstate features were suitable for task performance classification and eleven features including four archetypes were selected by recursive feature elimination (RFE). The model that implemented them showed the highest classification performance for differentiating between groups. Our pilot findings showed that the highest mean Area Under Curve (AUC) was 0.831. This study is the first to apply EEG microstate features to specific cognitive tasks in healthy subjects, suggesting that EEG microstate features can reflect task achievement.

Development of Cognitive Functions and Academic Skills in 9- to 10-year-old Children with Borderline Intellectual Functioning

This longitudinal study examined whether the cognitive and academic development of children (M_age = 10.52 years) with Borderline Intellectual Functioning (BIF), is characterized by developmental delay or atypical development. Cognitive tasks, arithmetic tasks, and reading tasks were administrated during three succeeding years to the BIF group and a Chronological Age-Matched Comparison (CAMC) group. The BIF children displayed weaknesses in relation to all tasks, and slower developmental rates on four arithmetic tasks and word reading. The results provide evidence in support of the developmental delay model as the BIF children overall displayed similar developmental growth and trends as the CAMC group.

Overestimation of volatility in schizophrenia and autism? A comparative study using a probabilistic reasoning task

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

A plethora of studies has investigated and compared social cognition in autism and schizophrenia ever since both conditions were first described in conjunction more than a century ago. Recent computational theories have proposed similar mechanistic explanations for various symptoms beyond social cognition. They are grounded in the idea of a general misestimation of uncertainty but so far, almost no studies have directly compared both conditions regarding uncertainty processing. The current study aimed to do so with a particular focus on estimation of volatility, i.e. the probability for the environment to change.

METHODS

A probabilistic decision-making task and a visual working (meta-)memory task were administered to a sample of 86 participants (19 with a diagnosis of high-functioning autism, 21 with a diagnosis of schizophrenia, and 46 neurotypically developing individuals).

RESULTS

While persons with schizophrenia showed lower visual working memory accuracy than neurotypical individuals, no significant group differences were found for metamemory or any of the probabilistic decision-making task variables. Nevertheless, exploratory analyses suggest that there may be an overestimation of volatility in subgroups of participants with autism and schizophrenia. Correlations revealed relationships between different variables reflecting (mis)estimation of uncertainty, visual working memory accuracy and metamemory.

LIMITATIONS

Limitations include the comparably small sample sizes of the autism and the schizophrenia group as well as the lack of cognitive ability and clinical symptom measures.

CONCLUSIONS

The results of the current study provide partial support for the notion of a general uncertainty misestimation account of autism and schizophrenia.

Integrating Models of Self-Regulation

Self-regulation is a core aspect of human functioning that helps facilitate the successful pursuit of personal goals. There has been a proliferation of theories and models describing different aspects of self-regulation both within and outside of psychology. All of these models provide insights about self-regulation, but sometimes they talk past each other, make only shallow contributions, or make contributions that are underappreciated by scholars working in adjacent areas. The purpose of this article is to integrate across the many different models in order to refine the vast literature on self-regulation. To achieve this objective, we first review some of the more prominent models of self-regulation coming from social psychology, personality psychology, and cognitive neuroscience. We then integrate across these models based on four key elements—level of analysis, conflict, emotion, and cognitive functioning—specifically identifying points of convergence but also points of insufficient emphasis. We close with prescriptions for future research.

Attention control: The missing link between sensory discrimination and intelligence

Intelligence is correlated with the ability to make fine sensory discriminations. Although this relationship has been known since the beginning of intelligence testing, the mechanisms underlying this relationship are still unknown. In two large-scale structural equation-modelling studies, we investigated whether individual differences in attention control abilities can explain the relationship between sensory discrimination and intelligence. Across these two studies, we replicated the finding that attention control fully mediated the relationships of intelligence/working-memory capacity to sensory discrimination. Our findings show that attention control plays a prominent role in relating sensory discrimination to higher-order cognitive abilities.

Beginning of the Pandemic: COVID-19-Elicited Anxiety as a Predictor of Working Memory Performance

Increasing evidence indicates that the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is associated with adverse psychological effects, including heightened levels of anxiety. This study examined whether COVID-19-related anxiety levels during the early stage of the pandemic predicted demanding working memory (WM) updating performance. Altogether, 201 healthy adults (age range, 18-50) mostly from North America and the British Isles were recruited to this study via the crowdsourcing site www.prolific.co. The results showed that higher levels of COVID-19-related anxiety during the first weeks of the pandemic outbreak were associated with poorer WM performance as measured by the n-back paradigm. Critically, the unique role of COVID-19-related anxiety on WM could not be explained by demographic factors, or other psychological factors such as state and trait anxiety or fluid intelligence. Moreover, across three assessment points spanning 5-6 weeks, COVID-19-related anxiety levels tended to decrease over time. This pattern of results may reflect an initial psychological "shock wave" of the pandemic, the cognitive effects of which may linger for some time, albeit the initial anxiety associated with the pandemic would change with habituation and increasing information. Our results contribute to the understanding of cognitive-affective reactions to a major disaster.

Individual differences in working memory capacity moderate effects of post-learning activity on memory consolidation over the long term

Similar to sleeping after learning, a brief period of wakeful resting after encoding new information supports memory retention in contrast to task-related cognition. Recent evidence suggests that working memory capacity (WMC) is related to sleep-dependent declarative memory consolidation. We tested whether WMC moderates the effect of a brief period of wakeful resting compared to performing a distractor task subsequent to encoding a word list. Participants encoded and immediately recalled a word list followed by either an 8 min wakeful resting period (eyes closed, relaxed) or by performing an adapted version of the d2 test of attention for 8 min. At the end of the experimental session (after 12–24 min) and again, after 7 days, participants were required to complete a surprise free recall test of both word lists. Our results show that interindividual differences in WMC are a central moderating factor for the effect of post-learning activity on memory retention. The difference in word retention between a brief period of wakeful resting versus performing a selective attention task subsequent to encoding increased in higher WMC individuals over a retention interval of 12–24 min, as well as over 7 days. This effect was reversed in lower WMC individuals. Our results extend findings showing that WMC seems not only to moderate sleep-related but also wakeful resting-related memory consolidation.

The development of working memory

Working memory is a central cognitive system that plays key role in development, with increases in working memory capacity and speed of processing as children move from infancy through adolescence. Here, I focus on two questions: what neural processes underlie working memory and how do these processes change over development? Answers to these questions lie in computer simulations of artificial neural network models that shed light on how development happens. These models open up new avenues for optimizing clinical interventions aimed at boosting the working memory abilities of at-risk infants.

Predicting Working Memory Capacity Based on Glutamatergic Concentration and its Modulation of Functional Connectivity

Working memory (WM) capacity, the amount of information one can hold online in mind, has a central role in cognition. Previous electrophysiological and imaging studies revealed the pivotal role of persistent activity within parietal and frontal regions as the neural foundations underpinning WM capacity. The best candidate molecules determining persistent activity are the brain's major excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmitters, glutamate and gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), respectively. However, our knowledge of these neurophysiological determinants in forming WM capacity is still poor. Using magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS), we examined the contribution of glutamate and GABA within the left intraparietal sulcus (IPS) and the left inferior/middle frontal gyrus (FG) in tracking WM capacity. A positive association was found between glutamate within the left IPS and WM capacity. By utilising resting-state functional MRI, we identified a negative association between parieto-cingulate connectivity and WM capacity. Individual variation in parieto-cingulate connectivity was explained by glutamatergic concentration in the IPS. Moreover, we found that parieto-cingulate connectivity mediated the relationship between interparietal sulcus glutamate and WM capacity. This set of findings reveals a novel mechanistic insight by which glutamatergic concentration within the IPS shapes WM capacity via parieto-cingulate connectivity.

Individual alpha frequency modulates sleep-related emotional memory consolidation

Alpha-band oscillatory activity is involved in modulating memory and attention. However, few studies have investigated individual differences in oscillatory activity during the encoding of emotional memory, particularly in sleep paradigms where sleep is thought to play an active role in memory consolidation. The current study aimed to address the question of whether individual alpha frequency (IAF) modulates the consolidation of declarative memory across periods of sleep and wake. 22 participants aged 18-41 years (mean age = 25.77) viewed 120 emotionally valenced images (positive, negative, neutral) and completed a baseline memory task before a 2hr afternoon sleep opportunity and an equivalent period of wake. Following the sleep and wake conditions, participants were required to distinguish between 120 learned (target) images and 120 new (distractor) images. This method allowed us to delineate the role of different oscillatory components of sleep and wake states in the emotional modulation of memory. Linear mixed-effects models revealed interactions between IAF, rapid eye movement sleep theta power, and slow-wave sleep slow oscillatory density on memory outcomes. These results highlight the importance of individual factors in the EEG in modulating oscillatory-related memory consolidation and subsequent behavioural outcomes and test predictions proposed by models of sleep-based memory consolidation.

A Thalamic Orphan Receptor Drives Variability in Short-Term Memory

Working memory is a form of short-term memory that involves maintaining and updating task-relevant information toward goal-directed pursuits. Classical models posit persistent activity in prefrontal cortex (PFC) as a primary neural correlate, but emerging views suggest additional mechanisms may exist. We screened ∼200 genetically diverse mice on a working memory task and identified a genetic locus on chromosome 5 that contributes to a substantial proportion (17%) of the phenotypic variance. Within the locus, we identified a gene encoding an orphan G-protein-coupled receptor, Gpr12, which is sufficient to drive substantial and bidirectional changes in working memory. Molecular, cellular, and imaging studies revealed that Gpr12 enables high thalamus-PFC synchrony to support memory maintenance and choice accuracy. These findings identify an orphan receptor as a potent modifier of short-term memory and supplement classical PFC-based models with an emerging thalamus-centric framework for the mechanistic understanding of working memory.

Variable Cognition in ABM Decision-Making: An Application to Livestock Vaccine Choice

Modeling realistic human decision-making is an important feature of good policy design processes. The use of an agent-based modeling framework allows for quantitative human decision-models that assume fully rational agents. This research introduces a dynamic human decision-making sub-model. The parameterisation of human memory and "rationality" in a decision-making model represents an important extension of decision-making in ABMs. A data driven model of herd movement within a dynamic natural environment is the context for evaluating the cognitive decision-making model. The natural and human environments are linked via memory and rationality that affect herdsmen decision-making to vaccinate cattle using a once-for-life vaccine (Rift Valley fever) and an annual booster vaccine (Contagious Bovine Pleuropneumonia). The simulation model uses environmental data from Samburu county, Kenya from 2004 to 2015. The cognitive parameters of memory and "rationality" are shown to successfully differentiate between vaccination decisions that are characterized by annual and once-for-life choices. The preliminary specifications and findings from the dynamic cognition-pastoralist agent-based model (PastoralScape) indicate that the model offers much to livestock vaccination modeling among small-scale herders.

Working memory complex span tasks and fluid intelligence: Does the positional structure of the task matter?

The complex span task used to evaluate working memory (WM) capacity has been considered to be the most predictive task of fluid intelligence. However, the structure of the complex span tasks varies from one study to another, and it has not been questioned yet whether these variants could influence the predictive power of these tasks. Previous studies have typically used either structures based on alternating processing-storage patterns or alternating storage-processing patterns. We present one experiment in which the participants were submitted to both the processing-storage vs. storage-processing types. After completing both types of complex span tasks, the participants performed a reasoning test (Matrix Reasoning of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale - WAIS-IV). The results showed a significant difference in the WM spans between the two conditions, with higher spans observed in the processing-storage alternating structure, and different serial position curves. However, the correlations showed that both types of tasks remained equally predictive of performance in the reasoning test. These results are discussed in regard to the time-based resource-sharing model.

Multivariate Lesion-Behavior Mapping of General Cognitive Ability and Its Psychometric Constituents

General cognitive ability, or general intelligence (g), is central to cognitive science, yet the processes that constitute it remain unknown, in good part because most prior work has relied on correlational methods. Large-scale behavioral and neuroanatomical data from neurologic patients with focal brain lesions can be leveraged to advance our understanding of the key mechanisms of g, as this approach allows inference on the independence of cognitive processes along with elucidation of their respective neuroanatomical substrates. We analyzed behavioral and neuroanatomical data from 402 humans (212 males; 190 females) with chronic, focal brain lesions. Structural equation models (SEMs) demonstrated a psychometric isomorphism between g and working memory in our sample (which we refer to as g/Gwm), but not between g and other cognitive abilities. Multivariate lesion-behavior mapping analyses indicated that g and working memory localize most critically to a site of converging white matter tracts deep to the left temporo-parietal junction. Tractography analyses demonstrated that the regions in the lesion-behavior map of g/Gwm were primarily associated with the arcuate fasciculus. The anatomic findings were validated in an independent cohort of acute stroke patients (n = 101) using model-based predictions of cognitive deficits generated from the Iowa cohort lesion-behavior maps. The neuroanatomical localization of g/Gwm provided the strongest prediction of observed g in the new cohort (r = 0.42, p < 0.001), supporting the anatomic specificity of our findings. These results provide converging behavioral and anatomic evidence that working memory is a key mechanism contributing to domain-general cognition.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT General cognitive ability (g) is thought to play an important role in individual differences in adaptive behavior, yet its core processes remain unknown, in large part because of difficulties in making causal inferences from correlated data. Using data from patients with focal brain damage, we demonstrate that there is a strong psychometric correspondence between g and working memory - the ability to maintain and control mental information, and that the critical neuroanatomical substrates of g and working memory include the arcuate fasciculus. This work provides converging behavioral and neuroanatomical evidence that working memory is a key mechanism contributing to domain-general cognition.

Cognitive aging and verbal labeling in continuous visual memory

The decline of working memory (WM) is a common feature of general cognitive decline, and visual and verbal WM capacity appear to decline at different rates with age. Visual material may be remembered via verbal codes or visual traces, or both. Souza and Skóra, Cognition, 166, 277-297 (2017) found that labeling boosted memory in younger adults by activating categorical visual long-term memory (LTM) knowledge. Here, we replicated this and tested whether it held in healthy older adults. We compared performance in silence, under instructed overt labeling (participants were asked to say color names out loud), and articulatory suppression (repeating irrelevant syllables to prevent labeling) in the delayed estimation paradigm. Overt labeling improved memory performance in both age groups. However, comparing the effect of overt labeling and suppression on the number of coarse, categorical representations in the two age groups suggested that older adults used verbal labels subvocally more than younger adults, when performing the task in silence. Older adults also appeared to benefit from labels differently than younger adults. In younger adults labeling appeared to improve visual, continuous memory, suggesting that labels activated visual LTM representations. However, for older adults, labels did not appear to enhance visual, continuous representations, but instead boosted memory via additional verbal (categorical) memory traces. These results challenged the assumption that visual memory paradigms measure the same cognitive ability in younger and older adults, and highlighted the importance of controlling differences in age-related strategic preferences in visual memory tasks.

The relationship between plasma levels of clozapine and N-desmethyclozapine as well as M1 receptor polymorphism with cognitive functioning and associated cortical activity in schizophrenia

Studies that examined the effect of clozapine on cognitive functions in schizophrenia provided contradictory results. N-desmethylclozapine (NDMC) is the major metabolite of clozapine and have procognitive effects via agonistic activity in the M1 cholinergic receptors. The rs2067477 polymorphism in the M1 receptors may play role in cognitive profile in schizophrenia. We investigated the association of plasma clozapine (PClz), NDMC (PNdmc) levels and the rs2067477 polymorphism with cognitive functions and cortical activity measured by functional near infrared spectroscopy during the N-Back task in subjects with schizophrenia (N = 50) who are under antipsychotic monotherapy with clozapine. We found that PClz and PNdmc levels were negatively, PNdmc/PClz ratio was positively correlated with immediate recall score in the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test. PNdmc/PClz ratio was positively correlated with cortical activity during the N-back task. M1 wild-type group (CC: wild-type) produced higher cortical activity than M1 non wild-type group (CA: heterozygote / AA: mutant) in cortical regions associated with working memory (WM). These results suggest that individual differences in clozapine's effect on short term episodic memory may be associated with PClz and PNdmc. Higher activity in the M1 wild-type group may indicate inefficient use of cortical resources and/or excessive use of certain cognitive strategies during WM performance.

Gestational Smoking and Hypertension as Predictors of Working Memory Functioning in Childhood Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental condition affecting between 5 and 8% of all children and adolescents, characterized by impairing levels of inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity. Existing cognitive models of ADHD have placed working memory (WM) deficits at the core of ADHD and suggest that primary WM deficits may also underlie the additional deficits associated with the condition. Although not all children with ADHD show WM deficits, those with such deficits have been found to have worse functional outcomes when compared to their diagnosed peers with typical WM functioning. Even so, contributors to the variability of impaired WM functioning seen within this population remain unknown. In the present study, we examined the association between two known prenatal and perinatal risk factors for impaired cognitive functioning - gestational smoking and hypertension - in three independent samples of children and adolescents with ADHD (samples varied with respect to sample size and WM measurement procedures). Contrary to hypotheses and existing literature, presence of high blood pressure during pregnancy was unexpectedly found to be a positive predictor of offspring WM capacity in one of three samples (a sample of all girls with ADHD). Implications and considerations for future research are discussed.

Working Memory Capacity and ADHD Symptoms in Boys: Examining the Heterogeneity of Working Memory Functioning Using Latent Profile Analysis

Recent studies demonstrate that working memory (WM) is integral to etiological models of ADHD; however, significant questions persist regarding the relation between WM performance across tasks with varying cognitive demands and ADHD symptoms. The current study incorporates an individual differences approach to WM heterogeneity (i.e., latent profile analysis) to (a) identify differential profiles of WM across the phonological and visuospatial WM subsystems; and (b) characterize differences in symptom presentation among WM profiles. Parent and teacher ratings of child behavior, obtained for boys with (n=51) and without (n=38) a diagnosis of ADHD, were compared across latent classes of visuospatial and phonological WM performance. Latent profile analysis identified three classes of WM functioning: Low WM, Moderate WM, and High WM. Membership in the Low and Moderate WM classes was associated with greater levels of parent- and teacher-rated inattentive and hyperactive symptoms. While 84% of the ADHD group were assigned to the Low and Moderate WM classes, more than a quarter of children without ADHD exhibited Moderate WM limitations. Collectively, these findings extend prior work suggesting that there is substantial heterogeneity in WM functioning in children with and without ADHD and that these differences contribute to the expression of symptoms of inattention and hyperactivity.

The effects of cognitive abilities and task demands on tonic and phasic pupil sizes

Previous studies on individual differences in pupil size of healthy individuals and their relation to performance have been inconclusive. Using a novel approach, we tested the effect of general cognitive abilities and level of task performance on pretrial baseline and task-evoked pupil (TEP) sizes (N = 116) while we manipulated the level of task demands using a multiple object tracking task. Results did not reveal an effect of general cognitive abilities, estimated by working memory capacity and gF scores, on either baseline or TEP sizes. In contrast, we found an interaction in TEP sizes between level of overall MOT performance and task demands. We propose that individual differences in TEP sizes are related to state-specific level of task performance and task demands, probably in combination with other factors like age, personality traits, and state-specific level of motivation and arousal. We also suggest methodological confounds that may cause the previous inconclusive findings.

Training with high perceptual difficulty improves the capacity and fidelity of internal representation in VWM

It has been shown that the capacity of visual working memory (VWM) is a strong predictor of individual intelligence, and researchers have developed various training protocols to improve VWM capacity. However, it seems that whether the fidelity of internal representation in VWM can also be improved by training is largely overlooked in the past literature. Here, we introduced a new training approach that involved increasing the perceptual difficulty of training materials to enhance VWM, and both memory capacity and the fidelity of representation were examined to assess the training efficacy. Participants with normal vision and cognitive abilities received 3-week training on VWM using a change detection task, and the results showed that both the capacity and the fidelity of memory representations were improved for training with perceptually difficult stimuli, while only the fidelity was improved for training with perceptually normal stimuli. In addition, we found that the training effects on memory precision may be subject to capacity constraints. We suggest that long-term adaptive training with perceptually difficult stimuli may facilitate encoding efficiency through familiarizing trainees with an increased baseline of cognitive workload during the encoding process. The present study offers clear evidence that training with high perceptual difficulty is more effective and the improvements in VWM are more stable than training with perceptually normal materials, and the simple manipulation on training stimuli indicates that the method can be generalized to a wider range of training situations and populations.

Indexing Early Visual Memory Durability in Infancy

The goal was to examine the scope and development of early visual memory durability. We investigated individual- and age-related differences across three unique tasks in 6- to 12-month-olds (M_age  = 8.87, N = 49) by examining the effect of increased delay on memory performance. Results suggest longer-term memory processes are quantifiable by 8 months using a modified Change Detection paradigm and spatial-attention cueing processes are quantifiable by 10 months using a modified Delayed Response paradigm, utilizing 500-1,250 ms delays. Performance improved from 6 to 12 months and longer delays impaired performance. We found no evidence for success on the Delayed Match Retrieval task at any age. These outcomes help inform our understanding of infant visual memory durability and its emergence throughout early development.

Toward a "treadmill test" for cognition: Improved prediction of general cognitive ability from the task activated brain

General cognitive ability (GCA) refers to a trait-like ability that contributes to performance across diverse cognitive tasks. Identifying brain-based markers of GCA has been a longstanding goal of cognitive and clinical neuroscience. Recently, predictive modeling methods have emerged that build whole-brain, distributed neural signatures for phenotypes of interest. In this study, we employ a predictive modeling approach to predict GCA based on fMRI task activation patterns during the N-back working memory task as well as six other tasks in the Human Connectome Project dataset (n = 967), encompassing 15 task contrasts in total. We found tasks are a highly effective basis for prediction of GCA: The 2-back versus 0-back contrast achieved a 0.50 correlation with GCA scores in 10-fold cross-validation, and 13 out of 15 task contrasts afforded statistically significant prediction of GCA. Additionally, we found that task contrasts that produce greater frontoparietal activation and default mode network deactivation-a brain activation pattern associated with executive processing and higher cognitive demand-are more effective in the prediction of GCA. These results suggest a picture analogous to treadmill testing for cardiac function: Placing the brain in a more cognitively demanding task state significantly improves brain-based prediction of GCA.

The Comparison of Perfectionism and Commitment between Professional and Amateur Golfers and the Association between Perfectionism and Commitment in the Two Groups

This study investigated differences in perfectionist traits and commitment between professional and amateur golfers, as well as correlations among perfectionist traits, commitment, and golf handicap. Using simple random sampling, 486 professional golfers (mean age = 22.1 ± 3.0, 52.1% female) and 233 amateur golfers (mean age = 44.8 ± 10.2, 55.8% female) were recruited and assessed using the Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale (MPS) and Expansion of Sports Commitment Model (ESCM). An ANCOVA, controlling for age, golf career length, and training time, revealed lower MPS self-oriented scores (10.3%; F = 8.9, p < 0.01; effect size [ES] = 0.498) and higher ESCM-Cognition (12.6%; F = 9.4, p < 0.01; ES = 0.691) and ESCM-Behavior (9.4%; F = 4.6, p = 0.03; ES = 0.479) scores in professional golfers than in amateur golfers. In partial correlations controlling for age, golf career length, and training time, professional golfers' MPS scores were negatively associated with ESCM-Cognition scores (r = -0.30, p < 0.001). Professional golfers' mean golf handicap was positively correlated with MPS total (r = 0.33, p < 0.01). Altogether, golfers seeking to attain high levels of performance must consider the mental aspect of golfing and find ways to maximize commitment levels while minimizing perfectionist traits.

Strategy mediation in working memory training in younger and older adults

Working memory (WM) training with the N-Back task has been argued to improve cognitive capacity and general cognitive abilities (the Capacity Hypothesis of training), although several studies have shown little or no evidence for such improvements beyond tasks that are very similar to the trained task. Laine et al. demonstrated that instructing young adult participants to use a specific visualisation strategy for N-back training resulted in clear, generalised benefits from only 30 min of training (Strategy Mediation Hypothesis of training). Here, we report a systematic replication and extension of the Laine et al. study, by administering 60 younger and 60 older participants a set of WM tasks before and after a 30-min N-back training session. Half the participants were instructed to use a visualisation strategy, the others received no instruction. The pre-post test battery encompassed a criterion task (digit N-back), two untrained tasks N-back tasks (letters and colours), and three structurally different WM tasks. The instructed visualisation strategy significantly boosted at least some measures of N-back performance in participants of both age groups, although the strategy generally appeared more difficult to implement and less beneficial for older adults. However, the strategy did not improve performance on structurally different WM tasks. We also found significant associations between N-back performance and the type and level of detail of self-generated strategies in the uninstructed participants, as well as age group differences in reported strategy types. WM performance appeared to partly reflect the application of strategies, and Strategy Mediation should be considered to understand the mechanisms of WM training. Claims of efficient training should demonstrate useful improvement beyond task-specific strategies.

Pupillary and behavioral markers of alerting and orienting: An individual difference approach

Measuring task-evoked pupillary (TEP) responses as an index of phasic activity in the locus coeruleus (LC), we examined two competing hypotheses regarding the alerting and orienting mechanisms of attention. According to a dual mechanism account (Fernandez-Duque & Posner, 1997), two separate noradrenergic and cholinergic mechanisms modulate, respectively, the alerting and orienting effects. However, Corbetta and colleagues (2008) proposed that LC phasic activity may also be involved in orienting effect through its functional relationship with the ventral attentional network. We recruited seventy-five healthy Norwegian participants to perform a Posner cueing task. Both behavioral and pupillary responses revealed the alerting effect. Also, both behavioral and pupillary responses indicated that cued attention is affected by age. Behavioral responses also revealed orienting effect However, we found no TEP differences between valid, invalid, and neutral conditions, suggesting that TEP effects were driven by the alerting effect of cue presentation. Moreover, both behavioral and pupillary estimates of alertness and orienting were uncorrelated. Finally, individual differences in general cognitive abilities did not appear to affect the orienting and alerting mechanisms. This pattern of results is consistent with the dual mechanism account of attention. However, the LC involvement in the (re)orienting attention may be driven by state-specific factors.

Lateralized alpha oscillations are irrelevant for the behavioral retro-cueing benefit in visual working memory

The limited capacity of visual working memory (vWM) necessitates the efficient allocation of available resources by prioritizing relevant over irrelevant items. Retro-cues, which inform about the future relevance of items after encoding has already finished, can improve the quality of memory representations of the relevant items. A candidate mechanism of this retro-cueing benefit is lateralization of neural oscillations in the alpha-band, but its precise role is still debated. The relative decrease of alpha power contralateral to the relevant items has been interpreted as supporting inhibition of irrelevant distractors or as supporting maintenance of relevant items. Here, we aimed at resolving this debate by testing how the magnitude of alpha-band lateralization affects behavioral performance: does stronger lateralization improve the precision of the relevant memory or does it reduce the biasing influence of the irrelevant distractor? We found that it does neither: while the data showed a clear retro-cue benefit and a biasing influence of non-target items as well as clear cue-induced alpha-band lateralization, the magnitude of this lateralization was not correlated with any performance parameter. This finding may indicate that alpha-band lateralization, which is typically observed in response to mnemonic cues, indicates an automatic shift of attention that only coincides with, but is not directly involved in mnemonic prioritization.