Neural Mechanisms of the Representation, Prioritization, and Manipulation of Visual Working Memory

视觉工作记忆的表征、优先级和操纵的神经机制

• 批准号: RGPIN-2019-04865
• 负责人: Emrich, Stephen
• 金额: $ 2.04万
• 依托单位: Brock University
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2022-01-01 至 2023-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=764008
• 关键词: Neural; Mechanisms; Representation; Prioritization; Manipulation

In order to perform many everyday tasks, such as driving down a busy street, it is necessary to hold information in mind "on-line" when it is no longer in view. The cognitive process responsible for holding information in memory for short periods of time is referred to as visual working memory. This ability is extremely limited, however; it is not possible to hold an unlimited amount of information in visual working memory. Consequently, previous studies have demonstrated that when you hold more information on-line, the quality of the information maintained becomes quite variable: that is, while some memories are very detailed, others have very low-resolution. Our past work has established that selectively attending to some items predicts how well people will remember that information. Attention "biases" memory, and this biasing of memory by attention appears to provide an explanation for why memory performance decreases when more items have to be remembered: when many items have to be remembered, attention is split across all items, and memory performance suffers. The current proposal builds on our previous research, and aims to identify the neural mechanisms that support the top-down biasing of visual working memory by attention. In particular, we are using fMRI and EEG and measure neural activity while healthy young adults perform visual working memory tasks, in order to understand how the brain can use attention to select and enhance the memories for some visual objects. We are also using TMS to causally disrupt brain functioning in areas thought to support this process, so that we can more accurately identify their role in this behaviour. Finally, we are also going to examine whether the process of selecting and enhancing some items in memory is similar to the processes involved when performing manipulations on the contents of memory (e.g., if you have to rotate an object in your mind). This research is important to people who study the brain, such as psychologists, neuroscientists and neurologists, as it will better help us understand how the brain supports short-term memory for visual objects. In particular, because this process is so limited, it will help to clarify how the brain manages to cope with these limits on information processing. By better understanding how the brain works, this research may help inform how behavioural interventions can support individuals who may suffer from short-term memory impairments.

为了执行许多日常任务，例如在忙碌的街道上开车，有必要在不再看到信息时“在线”记住信息。负责在记忆中短时间保存信息的认知过程被称为视觉工作记忆。然而，这种能力是非常有限的;不可能在视觉工作记忆中容纳无限数量的信息。因此，以前的研究已经证明，当你在线保存更多信息时，所保存的信息的质量变得非常可变：也就是说，虽然有些记忆非常详细，但其他记忆的分辨率非常低。我们过去的研究已经证实，选择性地注意某些项目可以预测人们对这些信息的记忆程度。注意力“偏向”记忆，这种由注意力引起的记忆偏向似乎可以解释为什么当需要记住更多的项目时，记忆表现会下降：当需要记住许多项目时，注意力会分散在所有项目上，记忆表现会受到影响。 目前的建议建立在我们以前的研究，并旨在确定神经机制，支持自上而下的视觉工作记忆的注意偏向。特别是，我们正在使用fMRI和EEG，并在健康的年轻人执行视觉工作记忆任务时测量神经活动，以了解大脑如何使用注意力来选择和增强对某些视觉对象的记忆。我们还使用TMS来因果地破坏被认为支持这一过程的大脑功能，以便我们能够更准确地识别它们在这一行为中的作用。最后，我们还将检查选择和增强记忆中某些项目的过程是否与对记忆内容执行操作时所涉及的过程相似（例如，如果你必须在脑海中旋转一个物体）。 这项研究对研究大脑的人来说很重要，比如心理学家、神经科学家和神经学家，因为它将更好地帮助我们了解大脑如何支持视觉对象的短期记忆。特别是，由于这个过程是如此有限，它将有助于澄清大脑如何设法科普信息处理的这些限制。通过更好地了解大脑如何工作，这项研究可能有助于告知行为干预如何支持可能患有短期记忆障碍的个体。