Neural mechanisms for inhibitory control over attention and working memory

我们对世界的日常看法必然是有偏见的：我们把注意力集中在与我们当前目标最相关的信息上，而忽略了与行为无关的信息。如果没有这种偏见，我们就会迷失在一个信息过载的世界里，甚至无法完成最简单的任务。这项研究探讨了大脑如何控制偏见，以优化目标导向的行为。在一系列的实验中，人类大脑的活动将被测量和干扰，以测试一种共同的大脑机制是否负责控制专注于与目标相关的视觉信息以及忽略不相关或分散注意力的视觉输入的能力。这项研究还将探讨这些感知偏差如何影响记忆的形成，反过来，我们的记忆如何反过来创造新的偏见模式。最后，本研究还将探讨个体在关注行为相关信息和/或抑制干扰方面的能力差异。特别有趣的是，这些能力将与抑郁和焦虑相关的人格特征有关，为进一步研究认知控制如何在精神情绪障碍中发挥作用提供基础。

Our everyday view of the world is necessarily biased: we focus our attention on information that is most relevant to our current goals, and ignore behaviourally irrelevant information. Without such bias, we would be lost in a world of information-overload, unable to accomplish even the simplest tasks. This research explores how the brain controls bias to optimise goal-directed behaviour. Over a series of experiments, activity in the human brain will be measured, and perturbed, to test whether a common brain mechanism is responsible for controlling the ability to focus on goal-relevant visual information as well as ignoring irrelevant, or distracting visual input. This research will also explore how these perceptual biases shape memory formation, and conversely, how our memories in turn create new bias patterns. Finally, this research will also explore how individuals differ in their ability to focus on behaviourally relevant information, and/or suppress distractions. Of particular interest, these abilities will be related to personality traits associated with depression and anxiety, providing a foundation for further research into how cognitive control could play a role in psychiatric mood disorders.