Early Prefrontal Activation As a Mechanism to Prevent Forgetting in the Context of Interference

García-Pacios, Javier; Gutiérrez, Ricardo; Solesio, Elena; Moratti, Stephan; Ruíz-Vargas, José María; López-Frutos, José María; Lorenzo-López, Laura; del-Pozo, Francisco; Maestú, Fernando

doi:10.1016/j.jagp.2012.12.021

“…Moreover, in a verbal WM task, Sakai et al (2002a) showed that interruptions in the form of a secondary arithmetic task impaired the ability to maintain task-relevant information in WM and therefore lead to increased error rates in memory trials in contrast to a non-interfering arithmetic task. Additionally, also MEG studies have shown that particularly interruptions lead to disruptive effects regarding encoding (García-Pacios et al, 2013), maintenance (Solesio-Jofre et al, 2011) and the retrieval of task-relevant information of the primary task (Solesio-Jofre et al, 2012).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Differential Effects of Interruptions and Distractions on Working Memory Processes in an ERP Study

Zickerick

¹

,

Thönes

²

,

Kobald

³

et al. 2020

Front. Hum. Neurosci.

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Interruptions (interfering stimuli to respond to) and distractions (interfering stimuli to be ignored) have been shown to negatively impact performance, particularly in tasks requiring working memory (WM). This study investigated how these two types of external interference affect task performance and attentional and WM processes as indexed by specific event-related potentials (ERPs) of the EEG. A Continuous Number Task (CNT) was applied, in which participants had to either decide whether the current number (condition without WM load) or the sum of the current and the preceding number (condition with WM load) was odd or even while responding to interlaced single letters (interruptions) or ignoring them (distractions). Contrary to previous research, we did not find external interference to affect performance under WM load. Unexpectedly, our results rather show that performance was significantly improved in trials after distractions compared to before. This effect was reflected particularly in a significantly increased P3 mean amplitude indicating enhanced attentional reallocation to task-relevant stimuli. Interestingly, this P3 effect appeared independent of WM load and also following interruptions. This underpins the account of P3 amplitudes being modulated by the interval between two task-relevant stimuli rather than by overall task-difficulty. Moreover, a pronounced fronto-central and posterior slow wave following interference suggest more control resources to maintain task-relevant stimuli in WM independent of the preceding interfering stimulus. Our results thus suggest that the type and foreknowledge of external interference may modulate the amount of interference and may also facilitate resource preparation under WM load.

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“…External interference induces a detrimental impact on working memory throughout the lifespan, although older adults exhibit a more negative impact than younger adults 2,3,[13][14][15][16][17][18] . Older adults also exhibit different patterns of neural activity compared to younger adults when attempting to resolve this interference 3,4,17,21 . However, some studies do not find evidence for such age-related behavioral 5,19,20 or neural 5 differences with interference.…”

Section: External Interference and Agingmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Cognitive Paradigm to Investigate Interference in Working Memory by Distractions and Interruptions

Janowich

¹

,

Mishra

²

,

Gazzaley

³

2015

JoVE

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Goal-directed behavior is often impaired by interference from the external environment, either in the form of distraction by irrelevant information that one attempts to ignore, or by interrupting information that demands attention as part of another (secondary) task goal. Both forms of external interference have been shown to detrimentally impact the ability to maintain information in working memory (WM). Emerging evidence suggests that these different types of external interference exert different effects on behavior and may be mediated by distinct neural mechanisms. Better characterizing the distinct neuro-behavioral impact of irrelevant distractions versus attended interruptions is essential for advancing an understanding of top-down attention, resolution of external interference, and how these abilities become degraded in healthy aging and in neuropsychiatric conditions. This manuscript describes a novel cognitive paradigm developed the Gazzaley lab that has now been modified into several distinct versions used to elucidate behavioral and neural correlates of interference, by to-be-ignored distractors versus to-be-attended interruptors. Details are provided on variants of this paradigm for investigating interference in visual and auditory modalities, at multiple levels of stimulus complexity, and with experimental timing optimized for electroencephalography (EEG) or functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies. In addition, data from younger and older adult participants obtained using this paradigm is reviewed and discussed in the context of its relationship with the broader literatures on external interference and age-related neuro-behavioral changes in resolving interference in working memory.

show abstract

“…External interference induces a detrimental impact on working memory throughout the lifespan, although older adults exhibit a more negative impact than younger adults 2,3, [13][14][15][16][17][18] . Older adults also exhibit different patterns of neural activity compared to younger adults when attempting to resolve this interference 3,4,17,21 . However, some studies do not find evidence for such age-related behavioral 5,19,20 or neural 5 differences with interference.…”

Section: External Interference and Agingmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Cognitive Paradigm to Investigate Interference in Working Memory by Distractions and Interruptions

Janowich

¹

,

Mishra

²

,

Gazzaley

³

2015

JoVE

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Goal-directed behavior is often impaired by interference from the external environment, either in the form of distraction by irrelevant information that one attempts to ignore, or by interrupting information that demands attention as part of another (secondary) task goal. Both forms of external interference have been shown to detrimentally impact the ability to maintain information in working memory (WM). Emerging evidence suggests that these different types of external interference exert different effects on behavior and may be mediated by distinct neural mechanisms. Better characterizing the distinct neuro-behavioral impact of irrelevant distractions versus attended interruptions is essential for advancing an understanding of top-down attention, resolution of external interference, and how these abilities become degraded in healthy aging and in neuropsychiatric conditions. This manuscript describes a novel cognitive paradigm developed the Gazzaley lab that has now been modified into several distinct versions used to elucidate behavioral and neural correlates of interference, by to-be-ignored distractors versus to-be-attended interruptors. Details are provided on variants of this paradigm for investigating interference in visual and auditory modalities, at multiple levels of stimulus complexity, and with experimental timing optimized for electroencephalography (EEG) or functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies. In addition, data from younger and older adult participants obtained using this paradigm is reviewed and discussed in the context of its relationship with the broader literatures on external interference and age-related neuro-behavioral changes in resolving interference in working memory.

show abstract

Early Prefrontal Activation As a Mechanism to Prevent Forgetting in the Context of Interference

Cited by 6 publications

References 52 publications

Differential Effects of Interruptions and Distractions on Working Memory Processes in an ERP Study

Differential Effects of Interruptions and Distractions on Working Memory Processes in an ERP Study

A Cognitive Paradigm to Investigate Interference in Working Memory by Distractions and Interruptions

A Cognitive Paradigm to Investigate Interference in Working Memory by Distractions and Interruptions

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