Authors
Nicole Hakim, Kirsten CS Adam, Eren Gunseli, Edward Awh, Edward K Vogel
Publication date
2019/4
Journal
Psychological science
Volume
30
Issue
4
Pages
526-540
Publisher
Sage Publications
Description
Complex cognition relies on both on-line representations in working memory (WM), said to reside in the focus of attention, and passive off-line representations of related information. Here, we dissected the focus of attention by showing that distinct neural signals index the on-line storage of objects and sustained spatial attention. We recorded electroencephalogram (EEG) activity during two tasks that employed identical stimulus displays but varied the relative demands for object storage and spatial attention. We found distinct delay-period signatures for an attention task (which required only spatial attention) and a WM task (which invoked both spatial attention and object storage). Although both tasks required active maintenance of spatial information, only the WM task elicited robust contralateral delay activity that was sensitive to mnemonic load. Thus, we argue that the focus of attention is maintained via a …
Total citations
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