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Exogenously Driven Neural Reactivation of Spatially Matching Visual Working-Memory Contents
Águeda Fuentes-Guerra1, Elisa Martín-Arévalo2, Freek van Ede3
1Department of Experimental Psychology, Brain, Mind, and Behavior Research Center (CIMCYC), University of Granada, Granada 18071, Spain aguedafgt@ugr.es.
Eneuro
|March 26, 2026
Summary
External stimuli can involuntarily select information in working memory (WM). Uninformative visual cues reactivated specific WM contents, demonstrating stimulus-driven attention within WM and influencing decision-making by speeding evidence accumulation.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Neuroscience
- Attention Research
- Working Memory Studies
Background:
- Selective attention is typically divided into voluntary and involuntary forms.
- Internal selective attention for working memory (WM) representations has been mainly studied for voluntary control.
- External stimuli's involuntary influence on internal WM selection remains poorly understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the neural mechanisms of involuntary attentional selection within WM.
- To determine if uninformative spatial cues can involuntarily reactivate WM content.
- To examine how external stimuli influence internal representations and decision-making.
Main Methods:
- Participants memorized complex contents at distinct locations.
- Unpredictictive, task-irrelevant spatial retro-cues were presented during WM delay.
- Temporally resolved multivariate EEG decoding and drift-diffusion modeling were employed.
Main Results:
- Category-specific neural reactivation of spatially matching WM content was observed post-cue.
- Neural responses to memory probes were modulated by cue congruency.
- Involuntary cueing effects were primarily driven by increased evidence accumulation.
Conclusions:
- Provides direct neural evidence for stimulus-driven, involuntary attentional selection within WM.
- Demonstrates that external events can automatically influence internal cognitive workspaces.
- Highlights the role of involuntary cueing in shaping decision-making processes.
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