Goal-directed modulation of the default network supports interactions between selective attention, working memory,...

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Neuroscience
• Neuroimaging

Background:

• Prior knowledge is crucial for guiding attention and decision-making.
• Existing research on selective attention often overlooks the role of prior knowledge, focusing instead on perceptual features.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the neural mechanisms of selective attention guided by prior knowledge.
• To compare brain activity during selection of familiar (memory-enhanced) versus novel (memory-independent) stimuli.

Main Methods:

• Multiecho functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used to record brain activity.
• A selective working memory task was designed with stimuli varying in familiarity (famous vs. anonymous people/places).
• Task relevance was manipulated by instructing participants to attend to either famous or anonymous stimuli.

Main Results:

• Selective working memory tasks sustained coactivation of frontoparietal control and dorsal attention networks.
• Task-relevant stimuli, regardless of fame, transiently coactivated frontoparietal control and default network regions.
• Attention-driven neuromodulation within the default network showed enhanced activation for relevant and suppressed activation for irrelevant stimuli.
• Selective working memory engaged high-order brain networks while reducing activity in visual regions.

Conclusions:

• The findings elucidate the neural basis of selecting perceptual information for working memory based on prior knowledge.
• This differs from neural mechanisms involved in perception-guided selection.
• Prior knowledge significantly modulates attention and working memory processes.