Visual Working Memory Adapts to the Nature of Anticipated Interference

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Neuroscience
• Psychology
• Neuroimaging

Background:

• Visual working memory (VWM) is generally considered robust against interference.
• However, the extent to which this robustness is obligatory or flexible remains unclear.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate whether VWM coding can be flexibly recruited based on expected interference.
• To determine if VWM prioritizes strengthening memories when interference is anticipated.

Main Methods:

• Participants performed a primary VWM task (remembering color and orientation of a grating).
• An interfering secondary task (color/orientation memory) was introduced during the VWM maintenance period.
• The probability of different types of interference was manipulated to alter expectations.

Main Results:

• Behavioral data showed that features with expected interference were "bolstered" (strengthened).
• Features with unexpected or no anticipated interference were left vulnerable.
• fMRI data from the visual cortex supported these behavioral findings.

Conclusions:

• VWM exhibits flexibility, dynamically adjusting memory strength based on anticipated interference.
• This adaptive mechanism prioritizes resources for memories at higher risk of disruption.
• The findings challenge the notion of obligatory VWM robustness, highlighting its strategic resource allocation.