Protecting visual short-term memory during maintenance: Attentional modulation of target and distractor representations

Abstract In the presence of distraction, attentional filtering is a key predictor of efficient information storage in visual short-term memory (VSTM). Yet, the role of attention in distractor filtering, and the extent to which attentional filtering continues to protect information during post-percep...

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Autores principales:	Marlies E. Vissers, Rasa Gulbinaite, Tijl van den Bos, Heleen A. Slagter
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Nature Portfolio 2017
Materias:	Medicine R Science Q
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/f3eeffbad93b42d9bb12611c160e3777
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:f3eeffbad93b42d9bb12611c160e37772021-12-02T11:52:36ZProtecting visual short-term memory during maintenance: Attentional modulation of target and distractor representations10.1038/s41598-017-03995-02045-2322https://doaj.org/article/f3eeffbad93b42d9bb12611c160e37772017-06-01T00:00:00Zhttps://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-03995-0https://doaj.org/toc/2045-2322Abstract In the presence of distraction, attentional filtering is a key predictor of efficient information storage in visual short-term memory (VSTM). Yet, the role of attention in distractor filtering, and the extent to which attentional filtering continues to protect information during post-perceptual stages of VSTM, remains largely unknown. In the current study, we investigated the role of spatial attention in distractor filtering during VSTM encoding and maintenance. Participants performed a change detection task with varying distractor load. Attentional deployment to target and distractor locations was tracked continuously by means of Steady-State Visual Evoked Potentials (SSVEPs). Analyses revealed that attention strongly modulated the amplitude of the second harmonic SSVEP response, with larger amplitudes at target compared to distractor locations. These attentional modulations commenced during encoding, and remained present during maintenance. Furthermore, the amount of attention paid to distractor locations was directly related to behavioral distractor costs: Individuals who paid more attention to target compared to distractor locations during VSTM maintenance generally suffered less from the presence of distractors. Together, these findings support an important role of spatial attention in distractor filtering at multiple stages of VSTM, and highlight the usefulness of SSVEPs in continuously tracking attention to multiple locations during VSTM.Marlies E. VissersRasa GulbinaiteTijl van den BosHeleen A. SlagterNature PortfolioarticleMedicineRScienceQENScientific Reports, Vol 7, Iss 1, Pp 1-14 (2017)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Medicine R Science Q
spellingShingle	Medicine R Science Q Marlies E. Vissers Rasa Gulbinaite Tijl van den Bos Heleen A. Slagter Protecting visual short-term memory during maintenance: Attentional modulation of target and distractor representations
description	Abstract In the presence of distraction, attentional filtering is a key predictor of efficient information storage in visual short-term memory (VSTM). Yet, the role of attention in distractor filtering, and the extent to which attentional filtering continues to protect information during post-perceptual stages of VSTM, remains largely unknown. In the current study, we investigated the role of spatial attention in distractor filtering during VSTM encoding and maintenance. Participants performed a change detection task with varying distractor load. Attentional deployment to target and distractor locations was tracked continuously by means of Steady-State Visual Evoked Potentials (SSVEPs). Analyses revealed that attention strongly modulated the amplitude of the second harmonic SSVEP response, with larger amplitudes at target compared to distractor locations. These attentional modulations commenced during encoding, and remained present during maintenance. Furthermore, the amount of attention paid to distractor locations was directly related to behavioral distractor costs: Individuals who paid more attention to target compared to distractor locations during VSTM maintenance generally suffered less from the presence of distractors. Together, these findings support an important role of spatial attention in distractor filtering at multiple stages of VSTM, and highlight the usefulness of SSVEPs in continuously tracking attention to multiple locations during VSTM.
format	article
author	Marlies E. Vissers Rasa Gulbinaite Tijl van den Bos Heleen A. Slagter
author_facet	Marlies E. Vissers Rasa Gulbinaite Tijl van den Bos Heleen A. Slagter
author_sort	Marlies E. Vissers
title	Protecting visual short-term memory during maintenance: Attentional modulation of target and distractor representations
title_short	Protecting visual short-term memory during maintenance: Attentional modulation of target and distractor representations
title_full	Protecting visual short-term memory during maintenance: Attentional modulation of target and distractor representations
title_fullStr	Protecting visual short-term memory during maintenance: Attentional modulation of target and distractor representations
title_full_unstemmed	Protecting visual short-term memory during maintenance: Attentional modulation of target and distractor representations
title_sort	protecting visual short-term memory during maintenance: attentional modulation of target and distractor representations
publisher	Nature Portfolio
publishDate	2017
url	https://doaj.org/article/f3eeffbad93b42d9bb12611c160e3777
work_keys_str_mv	AT marliesevissers protectingvisualshorttermmemoryduringmaintenanceattentionalmodulationoftargetanddistractorrepresentations AT rasagulbinaite protectingvisualshorttermmemoryduringmaintenanceattentionalmodulationoftargetanddistractorrepresentations AT tijlvandenbos protectingvisualshorttermmemoryduringmaintenanceattentionalmodulationoftargetanddistractorrepresentations AT heleenaslagter protectingvisualshorttermmemoryduringmaintenanceattentionalmodulationoftargetanddistractorrepresentations
_version_	1718395020985237504

Protecting visual short-term memory during maintenance: Attentional modulation of target and distractor representations

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