Long-term memory guides resource allocation in working memory

Abstract Working memory capacity is incredibly limited and thus it is important to use this resource wisely. Prior knowledge in long-term memory can aid in efficient encoding of information by allowing for the prioritization of novel stimuli over familiar ones. Here we used a full-report procedure i...

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Autores principales: Allison L. Bruning, Jarrod A. Lewis-Peacock
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Lenguaje:EN
Publicado: Nature Portfolio 2020
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Acceso en línea:https://doaj.org/article/10cef0d332bb47b693ac4791de930cfe
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spelling oai:doaj.org-article:10cef0d332bb47b693ac4791de930cfe2021-12-02T13:58:23ZLong-term memory guides resource allocation in working memory10.1038/s41598-020-79108-12045-2322https://doaj.org/article/10cef0d332bb47b693ac4791de930cfe2020-12-01T00:00:00Zhttps://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-79108-1https://doaj.org/toc/2045-2322Abstract Working memory capacity is incredibly limited and thus it is important to use this resource wisely. Prior knowledge in long-term memory can aid in efficient encoding of information by allowing for the prioritization of novel stimuli over familiar ones. Here we used a full-report procedure in a visual working memory paradigm, where participants reported the location of six colored circles in any order, to examine the influence of prior information on resource allocation in working memory. Participants learned that one of the items appeared in a restricted range of locations, whereas the remaining items could appear in any location. We found that participants’ memory performance benefited from learning this prior information. Specifically, response precision increased for all items when prior information was available for one of the items. Responses for both familiar and novel items were systematically ordered from highest to lowest precision. Participants tended to report the familiar item in the second half of the six responses and did so with greater precision than for novel items. Moreover, novel items that appeared near the center of the prior location were reported with worse precision than novel items that appeared elsewhere. This shows that people strategically allocated working memory resources by ignoring information that appeared in predictable locations and prioritizing the encoding of information that appeared in unpredictable locations. Together these findings demonstrate that people rely on long-term memory not only for remembering familiar items, but also for the strategic allocation of their limited capacity working memory resources.Allison L. BruningJarrod A. Lewis-PeacockNature PortfolioarticleMedicineRScienceQENScientific Reports, Vol 10, Iss 1, Pp 1-10 (2020)
institution DOAJ
collection DOAJ
language EN
topic Medicine
R
Science
Q
spellingShingle Medicine
R
Science
Q
Allison L. Bruning
Jarrod A. Lewis-Peacock
Long-term memory guides resource allocation in working memory
description Abstract Working memory capacity is incredibly limited and thus it is important to use this resource wisely. Prior knowledge in long-term memory can aid in efficient encoding of information by allowing for the prioritization of novel stimuli over familiar ones. Here we used a full-report procedure in a visual working memory paradigm, where participants reported the location of six colored circles in any order, to examine the influence of prior information on resource allocation in working memory. Participants learned that one of the items appeared in a restricted range of locations, whereas the remaining items could appear in any location. We found that participants’ memory performance benefited from learning this prior information. Specifically, response precision increased for all items when prior information was available for one of the items. Responses for both familiar and novel items were systematically ordered from highest to lowest precision. Participants tended to report the familiar item in the second half of the six responses and did so with greater precision than for novel items. Moreover, novel items that appeared near the center of the prior location were reported with worse precision than novel items that appeared elsewhere. This shows that people strategically allocated working memory resources by ignoring information that appeared in predictable locations and prioritizing the encoding of information that appeared in unpredictable locations. Together these findings demonstrate that people rely on long-term memory not only for remembering familiar items, but also for the strategic allocation of their limited capacity working memory resources.
format article
author Allison L. Bruning
Jarrod A. Lewis-Peacock
author_facet Allison L. Bruning
Jarrod A. Lewis-Peacock
author_sort Allison L. Bruning
title Long-term memory guides resource allocation in working memory
title_short Long-term memory guides resource allocation in working memory
title_full Long-term memory guides resource allocation in working memory
title_fullStr Long-term memory guides resource allocation in working memory
title_full_unstemmed Long-term memory guides resource allocation in working memory
title_sort long-term memory guides resource allocation in working memory
publisher Nature Portfolio
publishDate 2020
url https://doaj.org/article/10cef0d332bb47b693ac4791de930cfe
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