Focused information: Interactions between the visual focus, the attentional focus and the focus within visual-spatial working memory

在人类的信息处理中，人们面临着大量的信息，而处理能力却有限。因此，制定了选择和优先处理信息子集的原则。在视觉系统中，眼睛（视觉焦点）和视觉注意（注意焦点）就是两个这样重要的选择工具。他们选择并优先处理来自外部世界的信息。我们将这些机制与焦点进行比较，焦点应该是指向内部的：焦点从工作记忆中选择表征（记忆焦点）。工作记忆模型假设这种专注对于编码、保持可用性和检索信息是必要的。我们通过实验比较了这三个焦点的相互作用。我们专注于视觉空间工作记忆，并使用眼动记录来控制视觉和注意力焦点。我们的建议的第一部分分离视觉焦点和注意力焦点在编码阶段的影响。人们早就知道，注视目标和注意目标是可以分离的（如显性注意和隐性注意）。一项已经发表的研究（Lange & Engbert, 2013）表明，语言信息的编码是相当明显的，但空间编码利用相当隐蔽的注意力。我们首先研究了组合信息（语言/视觉和空间）的眼动控制，假设视觉焦点支持特征整合编码，但同时眼动活动可能损害空间特征的表征。在第二步中，我们区分了材料（语言/视觉）和任务难度的影响。我们的建议的第2部分侧重于三个焦点在保留间隔中的作用。在这里，特定的表征必须被激活以供以后的识别（记忆焦点），而扫视必须同时生成对象目标（视觉焦点和注意焦点）。回溯线索范式使我们能够理清这些过程和不同焦点的贡献。如果所有三个焦点都指向同一个对象，则内存性能应该受益，如果焦点指向不同的对象，则会发生内存干扰。我们将区分由于记忆退化引起的干扰和由不同焦点选择的表征混淆。我们的目标是在一个视觉空间工作记忆模型中整合这三个焦点。

In human information processing one is confronted with large amounts of information but only limited processing capacities. Therefore, principles developed to select and prioritize processing of subsets of information. In the visual system the eyes (visual focus) and visual attention (attentional focus) are two such important selection tools. They select and prioritize information processing from the outside world. We compare these mechanisms with a focus, supposed to be directed to the inside: A focus selecting representations from working memory (memory focus). Working memory models assume that this focus is necessary to encode, keep available and retrieve information. We experimentally compare the interaction of these three foci. We concentrate on visual-spatial working memory and use eye movement recordings to control the visual and the attentional focus. Part 1 of our proposal dissociates the effects of the visual focus and the attentional focus in the encoding phase. It has long been known that fixation target and attentional target can be dissociated (e.g., overt and covert attention). An already published study (Lange & Engbert, 2013) demonstrated that encoding of verbal information is rather overt, but spatial encoding utilizes rather covert attention. We first investigate eye movement control for combined information (verbal/visual and spatial), assuming that the visual focus will support encoding of feature integration, but at the same time saccadic activity might impair the representation of spatial features. In a second step we differentiate between effects of material (verbal/visual) and task difficulty. Part 2 of our proposal concentrates on the role of the three foci within the retention interval. Here, specific representations have to be activated for later recognition (memory focus), whereas saccades have concurrently to be generated to object targets (visual focus and attentional focus). The retro-cue paradigm allows us to disentangle these processes and the contributions of the different foci. If all three foci are directed to the same object, memory performance should benefit, if the foci are directed to different objects, memory interference should occur. We will distinguish between interference due to memory degradation and confusion of representations being selected by different foci. Our goal is to integrate the three foci in a model of visual-spatial working memory.