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Related Concept Videos

Working Memory01:24

Working Memory

Working memory refers to a combination of components, including short-term memory and attention, that allow an individual to hold information temporarily as we perform cognitive tasks. It is an essential cognitive function that enables the execution of complex tasks such as problem-solving, comprehension, and reasoning. Unlike short-term memory, which simply involves the storage of information for a brief period, working memory involves the active manipulation and processing of this information.
Encoding01:19

Encoding

Information enters the brain through encoding, which is the input of information into the memory system. Once sensory information is received from the environment, the brain labels or codes it. The information is then organized with similar information and connected to existing concepts. Encoding occurs through automatic processing and effortful processing.
Automatic processing involves the encoding of details like time, space, frequency, and the meaning of words, usually done without conscious...
Role of Cerebellum and Prefrontal Cortex in Memory01:14

Role of Cerebellum and Prefrontal Cortex in Memory

The cerebellum, while traditionally associated with motor control, also plays a crucial role in memory, particularly in procedural memory, which involves learning motor tasks that become automatic through repetition. For example, studies have shown that when the cerebellum is damaged, individuals or animals lose the ability to learn conditioned motor responses, such as the conditioned eye-blink response in classical conditioning experiments with rabbits. This study demonstrates the cerebellum's...
Motor and Sensory Areas of the Cortex01:14

Motor and Sensory Areas of the Cortex

The cerebral cortex, the brain's outermost layer, is pivotal in processing complex cognitive tasks, emotions, and various sensory inputs and executing voluntary motor activities. This intricate structure is divided into three primary functional areas: the motor areas, sensory areas, and association areas.
Motor Areas
The motor areas located in the frontal lobe are central to controlling voluntary movements. This region is further subdivided into the primary motor cortex and the premotor cortex.
Visual Agnosia01:12

Visual Agnosia

Visual agnosia is a condition characterized by the inability to recognize visually presented objects despite having normal vision. For instance, a person with visual agnosia can describe the shape and color of an object but cannot identify or name it. This impairment does not affect their visual field, acuity, color vision, brightness discrimination, language, or memory. An example of this condition in a social setting is someone at a dinner party asking for "that silver thing with a round end"...
Higher Mental Functions of Brain: Learning and Memory01:26

Higher Mental Functions of Brain: Learning and Memory

Memory is one of the most vital higher mental functions of the brain. Memory is closely related to learning because it enables us to retain information and experiences from our past to use them in our present life. It also helps us to remember facts, events, and skills, such as riding a bike or swimming. There are two types of memory — declarative memory, which involves memorizing facts or events, and procedural memory, which enables us to remember how to do something like writing or playing an...

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 4, 2026

Measurement of Neurophysiological Signals of Ignoring and Attending Processes in Attention Control
09:37

Measurement of Neurophysiological Signals of Ignoring and Attending Processes in Attention Control

Published on: July 5, 2015

Working memory encoding delays top-down attention to visual cortex.

Paige E Scalf1, Paul E Dux, René Marois

  • 1Beckman Institute, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, 405N Mathews, Urbana, IL 61801, USA. pscalf@uiuc.edu

Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience
|February 2, 2011
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Encoding information into working memory delays attention to subsequent stimuli. This study shows working memory encoding (WME) postpones top-down attention deployment to visual targets.

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Last Updated: Jun 4, 2026

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09:37

Measurement of Neurophysiological Signals of Ignoring and Attending Processes in Attention Control

Published on: July 5, 2015

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10:38

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Published on: July 16, 2015

Eye Tracking, Cortisol, and a Sleep vs. Wake Consolidation Delay: Combining Methods to Uncover an Interactive Effect of Sleep and Cortisol on Memory
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Area of Science:

  • Cognitive Neuroscience
  • Human Perception and Attention

Background:

  • Working memory encoding (WME) is known to delay central decision-making for subsequent events.
  • Working memory is also implicated in interfering with the deployment of top-down attention.
  • This suggests WME might also postpone perceptual processing of later stimuli.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate whether working memory encoding (WME) serially postpones the action of top-down attention on low-level sensory signals.
  • To assess the temporal dynamics of attentional deployment during WME using time-resolved fMRI.

Main Methods:

  • Employed time-resolved fMRI to measure BOLD responses in visual cortex.
  • Participants viewed rapid serial visual presentation sequences with two targets (T1, T2) at short (550 ms) or long (1450 ms) stimulus onset asynchrony (SOA).
  • Compared T2 BOLD responses in dual-target (attend T1 and T2) versus single-target (attend T1 only) conditions, analyzing differences based on WME demands.

Main Results:

  • When WME demands for T1 were high, T2 BOLD response was significantly delayed at the short SOA compared to the long SOA.
  • This delay in T2 processing was absent when T1 encoding demands were low.
  • The findings indicate a serial postponement of attentional enhancement for T2 due to T1 processing.

Conclusions:

  • Encoding a stimulus into working memory delays the deployment of top-down attention to subsequent target representations in visual cortex.
  • This delay is contingent on the working memory encoding demands of the initial stimulus.
  • Highlights the interplay between working memory and attentional control in visual processing.