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Updated: Jul 7, 2026
A Cognitive Paradigm to Investigate Interference in Working Memory by Distractions and Interruptions
Published on: July 16, 2015
Auditory event-related potentials during a spatial working memory task
S K Rader1, J L Holmes, E J Golob
1Program in Neuroscience, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA 70118, USA.
Objective:
Sensory cortical activity can be jointly governed by bottom-up (e.g. stimulus features) and top-down (e.g. memory, attention) factors. We tested the hypothesis that auditory sensory cortical activity is affected by encoding and retrieval of spatial information.
Methods:
Auditory event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded during working memory and passive listening conditions. Trials contained three noise bursts (two "items" at different locations, followed by a "probe"). In the working memory task subjects determined if the probe matched an item location. The influence of long-term memory was evaluated by training to one location that was always a non-match. Auditory ERPs were analyzed to items and probes (N100, P200, late positive wave-LPW).
Results:
Reaction times varied significantly among probes (trained non-match
Conclusions:
Findings suggest that top-down factors during encoding modify sensory responses to successive items. Probe ERPs reflect sequence factors, such as recency and stimulus probability, and retrieval mechanisms not evident in passive listening.
Significance:
Results support a contribution of auditory cortex to working memory.
