Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 25, 2025
10:38
A Cognitive Paradigm to Investigate Interference in Working Memory by Distractions and Interruptions
Published on: July 16, 2015
13.6K
Trying Harder: How Cognitive Effort Sculpts Neural Representations during Working Memory.
Sarah L Master1, Shanshan Li1,2, Clayton E Curtis3,4
1Department of Psychology, New York University, New York, New York 10003.
Summary
Increased cognitive effort enhances working memory (WM) performance by modulating neural activity. Brain signals from the prefrontal cortex influence visual cortex representations, improving memory accuracy.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cognitive Psychology
- Cognitive Effort
Background:
- Motivational factors influence cognitive task performance, but underlying neural mechanisms are unclear.
- Cognitive effort is known to improve performance, yet its neural basis remains elusive.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how cognitive effort impacts neural representations of working memory (WM).
- To explore the neural mechanisms linking effort, prefrontal cortex (PFC) activity, and visual cortex representations during WM tasks.
Main Methods:
- Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used to monitor brain activity.
- Participants performed a working memory task with varying difficulty levels (easy vs. hard) to manipulate cognitive effort.
- Behavioral measures (pupil size, response time) and neural activity patterns were analyzed.
Main Results:
- Harder trials, indicative of higher effort, showed increased pupil size and slower response times.
- Persistent activity was observed in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) during high-effort trials.
- While PFC activity did not directly decode memory content, activity in the visual cortex showed enhanced decoding of memorized targets on hard trials.
- Frontal cortex activity amplitude predicted visual cortex decoding accuracy, linking effort to mnemonic fidelity.
Conclusions:
- Cognitive effort, signaled by prefrontal cortex activity, enhances the quality of working memory representations in the visual cortex.
- Effort-related feedback signals sculpt neural population activity, improving mnemonic precision and task performance.
Related Concept Videos
01:24Working Memory
156
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...
156
01:14Role of Cerebellum and Prefrontal Cortex in Memory
418
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...
418
01:17Cognitivism
1.4K
Cognitive psychology emerged as a significant field in the mid-20th century. It focused on understanding humans' internal mental processes. This approach emphasizes how people perceive, remember, think, and solve problems—elements critical to human cognition.
Previously dominated by behaviorism, which prioritized observable behaviors and largely ignored mental processes, psychology transformed in the 1950s. Cognitive psychologists argue that understanding how we think and process...
Previously dominated by behaviorism, which prioritized observable behaviors and largely ignored mental processes, psychology transformed in the 1950s. Cognitive psychologists argue that understanding how we think and process...
1.4K
01:30Information Processing Approach
33
The information-processing theory of cognitive development centers on fundamental mental processes, including attention, memory, and problem-solving skills. Researchers in this field examine how cognitive abilities, such as working memory, evolve and influence children's overall development. Studies indicate that children with stronger working memory tend to excel in reading comprehension, math, and problem-solving compared to peers with less efficient memory skills. Low working memory is...
33
01:19High-Level and Low-Level Awareness
263
Controlled processes in human consciousness represent high-alert mental states where individuals deliberately focus their attention on achieving specific goals. Controlled processes can be seen in situations like mastering new technology, where a person might become so absorbed that they ignore surrounding distractions. Such processes involve selective attention, requiring one to concentrate on particular elements of experience while disregarding others. These are governed by executive...
263
01:20Introduction to Cognitive Psychology
469
Cognitive psychology is the field of psychology dedicated to examining how people think. It attempts to explain how and why we think the way we do by studying the interactions among human thinking, emotion, creativity, language, and problem-solving, as well as other cognitive processes. Cognitive psychology studies how information is processed and manipulated in remembering, thinking, and knowing.
This field emerged in the mid-20th century, following a period dominated by behaviorism, which...
This field emerged in the mid-20th century, following a period dominated by behaviorism, which...
469