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Souza AS, Frischkorn GT. A diffusion model analysis of age and individual differences in the retro-cue benefit. Sci Rep 2023; 13:17356. [PMID: 37833420 PMCID: PMC10575881 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-44080-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/03/2023] [Accepted: 10/03/2023] [Indexed: 10/15/2023] Open
Abstract
The limited capacity of working memory (WM) constrains how well we can think and act. WM capacity is reduced in old age, with one explanation for this decline being a deficit in using attention to control WM contents. The retro-cue paradigm has been used to examine the ability to focus attention in WM. So far, there are conflicting findings regarding an aging deficit in the retro-cue effect. The present study evaluated age-related changes and individual differences in the retro-cue effect through a well-established computational model that combines speed and accuracy to extract underlying psychological parameters. We applied the drift-diffusion model to the data from a large sample of younger and older adults (total N = 346) that completed four retro-cue tasks. Retro-cues increased the quality of the evidence entering the decision process, reduced the time taken for memory retrieval, and changed response conservativeness for younger and older adults. An age-related decline was observed only in the retro-cue boost for evidence quality, and this was the only parameter capturing individual differences in focusing efficiency. Our results suggest that people differ in how well they can strengthen and protect a focused representation to boost evidence-quality accumulation, and this ability declines with aging.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alessandra S Souza
- Center for Psychology, Faculty of Psychology and Education Sciences, University of Porto, Rua Alfredo Allen S/N, 4200-135, Porto, Portugal.
- University of Zurich, Zürich, Switzerland.
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2
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Brandner C, Raynal E, Ruggeri P. Interindividual variations in associative visual learning: Exploration, description, and partition of response characteristics. Behav Res Methods 2023:10.3758/s13428-023-02208-z. [PMID: 37620746 DOI: 10.3758/s13428-023-02208-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 07/26/2023] [Indexed: 08/26/2023]
Abstract
Relying on existing literature to identify suitable techniques for characterizing individual differences presents practical and methodological challenges. These challenges include the frequent absence of detailed descriptions of raw data, which hinders the assessment of analysis appropriateness, as well as the exclusion of data points deemed outliers, or the reliance on comparing only extreme groups by categorizing continuous variables into upper and lower quartiles. Despite the availability of algorithmic modeling in standard statistical software, investigations into individual differences predominantly focus on factor analysis and parametric tests. To address these limitations, this application-oriented study proposes a comprehensive approach that leverages behavioral responses through the use of signal detection theory and clustering techniques. Unlike conventional methods, signal detection theory considers both sensitivity and bias, offering insights into the intricate interplay between perceptual ability and decision-making processes. On the other hand, clustering techniques enable the identification and classification of distinct patterns within the dataset, allowing for the detection of singular behaviors that form the foundation of individual differences. In a broader framework, these combined approaches prove particularly advantageous when analyzing large and heterogeneous datasets provided by data archive platforms. By applying these techniques more widely, our understanding of the cognitive and behavioral processes underlying learning can be expedited and enhanced.
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Affiliation(s)
- Catherine Brandner
- Brain Electrophysiology Attention Movement Laboratory, Institute of Psychology, University of Lausanne, Geopolis Quartier Mouline, CH-1015, Lausanne, Switzerland.
| | - Elsa Raynal
- Brain Electrophysiology Attention Movement Laboratory, Institute of Psychology, University of Lausanne, Geopolis Quartier Mouline, CH-1015, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Paolo Ruggeri
- Brain Electrophysiology Attention Movement Laboratory, Institute of Psychology, University of Lausanne, Geopolis Quartier Mouline, CH-1015, Lausanne, Switzerland
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3
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Liu R, Guo L, Sun HJ, Parviainen T, Zhou Z, Cheng Y, Liu Q, Ye C. Sustained attention required for effective dimension-based retro-cue benefit in visual working memory. J Vis 2023; 23:13. [PMID: 37191630 DOI: 10.1167/jov.23.5.13] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/17/2023] Open
Abstract
In visual working memory (VWM) tasks, participants' performances can be improved through the use of dimension-based retro-cues, which direct internal attention to prioritize a particular dimension (e.g., color or orientation) of VWM representations even after the stimuli disappear. This phenomenon is known as the dimension-based retro-cue benefit (RCB). The present study investigates whether sustained attention is required for the dimension-based RCB by inserting interference or interruption between the retro-cue and the test array to distract attention. We tested the effects of perceptual interference or cognitive interruption on dimension-based RCB when the interference (Experiments 1 and 2 with masks) or interruption (Experiments 3 and 4 with an odd-even task) occurred concurrently with the stages for the maintenance of prioritized information (long cue-and-interference/interruption interstimulus interval, e.g., Experiments 1 and 3) or the deployment of attention (short cue-and-interference/interruption interstimulus interval, e.g., Experiments 2 and 4). Our results demonstrate that perceptual interference or cognitive interruption attenuates the dimension-based RCB. These findings suggest that sustained attention is necessary for the effective prioritization of a specific dimension of VWM representations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ruyi Liu
- Institute of Brain and Psychological Sciences, Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu, China
- https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3416-6159
| | - Lijing Guo
- Institute of Brain and Psychological Sciences, Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu, China
- Department of Psychology, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, Finland
- https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2106-0198
| | - Hong-Jin Sun
- Department of Psychology, Neuroscience and Behaviour, McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada
| | - Tiina Parviainen
- Department of Psychology, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, Finland
- Centre for Interdisciplinary Brain Research, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, Finland
- https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6992-5157
| | - Zifang Zhou
- Institute of Brain and Psychological Sciences, Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu, China
| | - Yuxin Cheng
- Institute of Brain and Psychological Sciences, Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu, China
| | - Qiang Liu
- Institute of Brain and Psychological Sciences, Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu, China
| | - Chaoxiong Ye
- Institute of Brain and Psychological Sciences, Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu, China
- Department of Psychology, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, Finland
- Department of Psychology, Neuroscience and Behaviour, McMaster University ,Hamilton, Canada
- Faculty of Social Sciences, Tampere University, Tampere, Finland
- https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8301-7582
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Ye C, Xu Q, Li X, Vuoriainen E, Liu Q, Astikainen P. Alterations in working memory maintenance of fearful face distractors in depressed participants: An ERP study. J Vis 2023; 23:10. [PMID: 36652236 PMCID: PMC9855285 DOI: 10.1167/jov.23.1.10] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Task-irrelevant threatening faces (e.g., fearful) are difficult to filter from visual working memory (VWM), but the difficulty in filtering non-threatening negative faces (e.g., sad) is not known. Depressive symptoms could also potentially affect the ability to filter different emotional faces. We tested the filtering of task-irrelevant sad and fearful faces by depressed and control participants performing a color-change detection task. The VWM storage of distractors was indicated by contralateral delay activity, a specific event-related potential index for the number of objects stored in VWM during the maintenance phase. The control group did not store sad face distractors, but they automatically stored fearful face distractors, suggesting that threatening faces are specifically difficult to filter from VWM in non-depressed individuals. By contrast, depressed participants showed no additional consumption of VWM resources for either the distractor condition or the non-distractor condition, possibly suggesting that neither fearful nor sad face distractors were maintained in VWM. Our control group results confirm previous findings of a threat-related filtering difficulty in the normal population while also suggesting that task-irrelevant non-threatening negative faces do not automatically load into VWM. The novel finding of the lack of negative distractors within VWM storage in participants with depressive symptoms may reflect a decreased overall responsiveness to negative facial stimuli. Future studies should investigate the mechanisms underlying distractor filtering in depressed populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chaoxiong Ye
- Institute of Brain and Psychological Sciences, Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu, China.,Department of Psychology, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, Finland.,Center for Machine Vision and Signal Analysis, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland.,Faculty of Social Sciences, Tampere University, Tampere, Finland.,https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8301-7582.,
| | - Qianru Xu
- Center for Machine Vision and Signal Analysis, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland.,https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1579-6972.,
| | - Xueqiao Li
- Department of Psychology, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, Finland.,
| | - Elisa Vuoriainen
- Faculty of Social Sciences, Tampere University, Tampere, Finland.,
| | - Qiang Liu
- Institute of Brain and Psychological Sciences, Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu, China.,
| | - Piia Astikainen
- Department of Psychology, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, Finland.,https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4842-7460.,
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Liu X, Liu R, Guo L, Astikainen P, Ye C. Encoding specificity instead of online integration of real-world spatial regularities for objects in working memory. J Vis 2022; 22:8. [PMID: 36040269 PMCID: PMC9437652 DOI: 10.1167/jov.22.9.8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Most objects show high degrees of spatial regularity (e.g. beach umbrellas appear above, not under, beach chairs). The spatial regularities of real-world objects benefit visual working memory (VWM), but the mechanisms behind this spatial regularity effect remain unclear. The "encoding specificity" hypothesis suggests that spatial regularity will enhance the visual encoding process but will not facilitate the integration of information online during VWM maintenance. The "perception-alike" hypothesis suggests that spatial regularity will function in both visual encoding and online integration during VWM maintenance. We investigated whether VWM integrates sequentially presented real-world objects by focusing on the existence of the spatial regularity effect. Throughout five experiments, we manipulated the presentation (simultaneous vs. sequential) and regularity (with vs. without regularity) of memory arrays among pairs of real-world objects. The spatial regularity of memory objects presented simultaneously, but not sequentially, improved VWM performance. We also examined whether memory load, verbal suppression and masking, and memory array duration hindered the spatial regularity effect in sequential presentation. We found a stable absence of the spatial regularity effect, suggesting that the participants were unable to integrate real-world objects based on spatial regularities online. Our results support the encoding specificity hypothesis, wherein the spatial regularity of real-world objects can enhance the efficiency of VWM encoding, but VWM cannot exploit spatial regularity to help organize sampled sequential information into meaningful integrations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xinyang Liu
- Institute of Brain and Psychological Sciences, Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu, China.,Department of Psychology, University of Jyvaskyla, Jyväskylä, Finland.,https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5827-7729.,
| | - Ruyi Liu
- Institute of Brain and Psychological Sciences, Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu, China.,https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3416-6159.,
| | - Lijing Guo
- Institute of Brain and Psychological Sciences, Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu, China.,https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2106-0198.,
| | - Piia Astikainen
- Department of Psychology, University of Jyvaskyla, Jyväskylä, Finland.,https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4842-7460.,
| | - Chaoxiong Ye
- Institute of Brain and Psychological Sciences, Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu, China.,Department of Psychology, University of Jyvaskyla, Jyväskylä, Finland.,Faculty of Social Sciences, Tampere University, Tampere, Finland.,Center for Machine Vision and Signal Analysis, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland.,https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8301-7582.,
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Negative and Positive Bias for Emotional Faces: Evidence from the Attention and Working Memory Paradigms. Neural Plast 2021; 2021:8851066. [PMID: 34135956 PMCID: PMC8178010 DOI: 10.1155/2021/8851066] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2020] [Revised: 08/23/2020] [Accepted: 05/13/2021] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Visual attention and visual working memory (VWM) are two major cognitive functions in humans, and they have much in common. A growing body of research has investigated the effect of emotional information on visual attention and VWM. Interestingly, contradictory findings have supported both a negative bias and a positive bias toward emotional faces (e.g., angry faces or happy faces) in the attention and VWM fields. We found that the classical paradigms-that is, the visual search paradigm in attention and the change detection paradigm in VWM-are considerably similar. The settings of these paradigms could therefore be responsible for the contradictory results. In this paper, we compare previous controversial results from behavioral and neuroscience studies using these two paradigms. We suggest three possible contributing factors that have significant impacts on the contradictory conclusions regarding different emotional bias effects; these factors are stimulus choice, experimental setting, and cognitive process. We also propose new research directions and guidelines for future studies.
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