Do You Think Working Memory Can Balance Lack of Attention?

Working memory refers to a cognitive system with a limited capacity that is responsible for temporarily holding information. Working memory is important for reasoning and the guidance of decision making and behavior. To remember a sequence of events, the brain focuses its efforts on the event paid the least attention, rather than replaying the events in the order they occurred, finds a study in eNeuro.

This finding suggests that attention during the initial encoding of a memory influences how information is manipulated in working memory.

Anna Jafarpour and colleagues presented adults with a series of three images to remember. After a five-second delay, participants were presented with one of the images and asked whether it was shown from the same perspective (front, left or right views) as in the original sequence and in what position (1, 2 or 3) the image had been presented.

The authors found that the image that generated the weakest response in the brain during encoding was most strongly replayed during the delay period.

This result may indicate that the brain addresses the limitations of working memory capacity by focusing on the event that requires the most effort to remember.

Source-Eurekalert