Working memory precision is affected by priority of locations Z Klyszejko, M Rahmati, C Curtis |
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Department of Psychology and Center for Neural Science, New York University, NY, United States
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| The concept of priority map theory posits a neural mechanism for ranking important locations in the space based on visual saliency and goal-relevant stimulus features (Itti and Koch, 2001; Fecteau and Munoz, 2006). Presumably, neural activity within topographically organized maps of visual space in frontal and parietal association cortex code for prioritized locations (Jerde at al, 2012; Serences and Yantis, 2007). Our goal here is to distinguish priority maps from other models of spatial attention (e.g., “spotlight of attention”). To do so, we conducted two psychophysical working memory experiments in which subjects maintained cued locations with different priorities. In study 1, we showed that the probability that one’s memory for an item will later be tested is proportional to the precision of the item representation in working memory. In study 2, we showed that monetary incentives associated with an item are proportional to the precision of one’s memory for the item. Overall, the results from these two studies demonstrate that the relative priority of multiple items affects the precision of working memory. These data suggest the relative importance of multiple locations can be simultaneously encoded, theoretically, in prioritized maps of space. |
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