Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 20, 2026

A Real-world What-Where-When Memory Test
Published on: May 16, 2017
Fluctuations of Attention and Working Memory
Kirsten C S Adam1,2, Megan T deBettencourt3,4
1Department of Psychology, University of California San Diego, US.
Abstract:
Attention and working memory are intricately related, yet there remain ambiguities in how to best characterize this relationship. In his review, Oberauer formalizes several dimensions for the relationship between attention and working memory, focusing especially on the supporting role of attention during working memory maintenance. In this commentary, we highlight how attention and working memory relate on a broader time scale via trial-to-trial fluctuations. Specifically, we briefly describe evidence and implications of these fluctuations of attention and working memory. A strong link has been shown behaviorally (e.g., interleaved sustained attention and working memory tasks) and neurally (e.g., pre-trial predictors of working memory success), yet fluctuations of attention and working memory are also distinct. Thus, we argue that attention and working memory fluctuate synchronously but not synonymously.
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