Working memory is supported by learning to represent items as actions.
Attention in learning
Memory: Visual working and short-term memory
Perception and Action
Journal
Attention, perception & psychophysics
ISSN: 1943-393X
Titre abrégé: Atten Percept Psychophys
Pays: United States
ID NLM: 101495384
Informations de publication
Date de publication:
Jul 2023
Jul 2023
Historique:
accepted:
09
01
2023
medline:
28
7
2023
pubmed:
2
3
2023
entrez:
1
3
2023
Statut:
ppublish
Résumé
Working memory is typically described as a set of processes that allow for the maintenance and manipulation of information for proximal actions, yet the "action" portion of this construct is commonly overlooked. In contrast, neuroscience-informed theories of working memory have emphasized the hierarchical nature of memory representations, including both goals and sensory representations. These two representational domains are combined for the service of actions. Here, we tested whether, as it is commonly measured (i.e., with computer-based stimuli and button-based responses), working memory involved the planning of motor actions (i.e., specific button presses). Next, we examined the role of motor plan learning in successful working memory performance. Results showed that visual working memory performance was disrupted by unpredictable motor mappings, indicating a role for motor planning in working memory. Further, predictable motor mappings were in fact learned over the course of the experiment, thereby causing the measure of working memory to be partially a measure of participants' ability to learn arbitrary associations between visual stimuli and motor responses. Such learning was not highly specific to certain mappings; in sequences of short tasks, participants improved in their abilities to learn to represent items as actions in working memory. We discuss implications for working memory theories in light of hierarchical structure learning and ecological validity.
Identifiants
pubmed: 36859539
doi: 10.3758/s13414-023-02654-z
pii: 10.3758/s13414-023-02654-z
pmc: PMC10372123
doi:
Types de publication
Journal Article
Langues
eng
Sous-ensembles de citation
IM
Pagination
1649-1660Subventions
Organisme : Office of Naval Research
ID : N00014-17-1-2049
Informations de copyright
© 2023. The Author(s).
Références
Curr Opin Neurobiol. 2010 Apr;20(2):177-82
pubmed: 20362427
Cortex. 2020 Oct;131:179-194
pubmed: 32892152
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2012 May 29;109(22):8780-5
pubmed: 22582168
NPJ Sci Learn. 2021 Nov 29;6(1):33
pubmed: 34845220
Mem Cognit. 2015 Feb;43(2):226-36
pubmed: 25217113
Cognition. 2023 Jan;230:105274
pubmed: 36113256
J Cogn Neurosci. 2011 Jun;23(6):1358-67
pubmed: 20617889
J Vis. 2017 Sep 1;17(11):3
pubmed: 28877536
Sci Adv. 2021 Feb 19;7(8):
pubmed: 33608265
Psychol Rev. 2014 Jan;121(1):124-49
pubmed: 24490791
Memory. 2010 May;18(4):394-412
pubmed: 20408039
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2014 Nov 25;111(47):16961-6
pubmed: 25385590
Nat Neurosci. 2014 Mar;17(3):347-56
pubmed: 24569831
Psychol Bull. 2007 Nov;133(6):1038-66
pubmed: 17967093
J Neurophysiol. 2016 Jun 1;115(6):3113-22
pubmed: 27030738
Psychol Bull. 2009 Jan;135(1):50-68
pubmed: 19210053
Neural Comput. 2021 Jan;33(1):1-40
pubmed: 33080159
Nat Neurosci. 2019 Mar;22(3):477-483
pubmed: 30718904
Annu Rev Psychol. 2015 Jan 3;66:115-42
pubmed: 25251486
Sci Adv. 2021 Mar 24;7(13):
pubmed: 33762341
Front Comput Neurosci. 2014 May 28;8:57
pubmed: 24904395
Curr Opin Neurobiol. 2010 Apr;20(2):251-6
pubmed: 20227271
Percept Psychophys. 2001 Nov;63(8):1293-313
pubmed: 11800458
Curr Opin Neurobiol. 2012 Dec;22(6):956-62
pubmed: 22695048
Annu Rev Psychol. 2023 Jan 18;74:137-165
pubmed: 35961038
Curr Biol. 2017 Mar 20;27(6):840-846
pubmed: 28262488
J Vis. 2019 May 1;19(5):9
pubmed: 31074765
J Exp Psychol Hum Percept Perform. 2001 Feb;27(1):92-114
pubmed: 11248943