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Updated: Apr 19, 2026

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

Published on: July 16, 2015

Utility-based early modulation of processing distracting stimulus information.

Mike Wendt¹, Aquiles Luna-Rodriguez², Thomas Jacobsen²

¹Helmut-Schmidt-University/University of the Federal Armed Forces Hamburg, Experimental Psychology Unit, 22043 Hamburg, Germany mike.wendt@hsu-hh.de.

The Journal of Neuroscience : the Official Journal of the Society for Neuroscience

|December 16, 2014

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Cognitive control adjusts early sensory processing of distracting information based on its utility. This helps manage attention and task performance even when distractors are easily identifiable.

Keywords:

conflict adaptation contingency learning early selection visual attention

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Last Updated: Apr 19, 2026

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Published on: July 16, 2015

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Published on: July 5, 2015

Area of Science:

Cognitive Psychology
Neuroscience
Human Information Processing

Background:

Humans selectively process information to control actions, yet irrelevant stimuli (distractors) can impair performance.
Cognitive control models suggest processing of distractors is adjusted based on their utility, but specificity and affected processing stages remain debated.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate whether cognitive control specifically adjusts early sensory-perceptual processing of distractors based on their experienced utility.
To determine the processing stage affected by distractor utility adjustments.

Main Methods:

Electroencephalography (EEG) was used during a stimulus identification task with successive distractor-target presentation.
The overall utility of distractors was manipulated to assess its impact on behavior and neural activity.

Main Results:

Behavioral measures confirmed that distractor interference is modulated by distractor utility.
Distractor-evoked posterior N1 (a visual evoked potential) was significantly larger for high-utility distractors compared to low-utility distractors.
This effect was observed even for distractors not directly involved in the utility manipulation, indicating item-unspecific adjustment.

Conclusions:

Early sensory-perceptual processing of distractors is subject to item-unspecific adjustment based on experienced distractor utility.
Cognitive control mechanisms adapt early in processing to manage the impact of potentially interfering information.