Voluntary task switching under working-memory load: Investigating the contribution of top-down control in intentional goal-directed behavior

2009 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jelle Demanet ◽  
Frederick Verbruggen ◽  
Baptist Liefooghe ◽  
Andre Vandierendonck
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Task Switching ◽  
Memory Load ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Working Memory Load ◽  
Voluntary Task Switching ◽  
Goal Directed Behavior

scholarly journals Inattention and task switching performance: the role of predictability, working memory load and goal neglect

2019 ◽  
Vol 84 (8) ◽  
pp. 2090-2110
Author(s):  
Gizem Arabacı ◽  
Benjamin A. Parris
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Task Switching ◽  
Memory Load ◽  
Proactive Control ◽  
Reactive Control ◽  
Working Memory Load ◽  
Switching Performance ◽  
Switch Costs ◽  
Goal Neglect

Abstract Inattention is a symptom of many clinical disorders including attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and is thought to be primarily related to limitations in working memory. In two studies, we investigated the implications of inattention for task switching performance. In study one, we measured task switching performance using predictable and unpredictable conditions in adults who self-rated inattention and other ADHD-related tendencies. Tasks required proactive control and reactive control, respectively, under both high and low working memory loads. Results revealed that inattentive, but not hyperactive/impulsive traits, predicted switch costs when switching was predictable and working memory load was high. None of the ADHD traits were related to unpredictable switch costs. Study two was designed to: (1) de-confound the role of proactive control and the need to keep track of task order in the predictable task switching paradigm; (2) investigate whether goal neglect, an impairment related to working memory, could explain the relationship between inattention and predictable task switching. Results revealed that neither predictability nor the need to keep track of the task order led to the association between switch costs and inattention, but instead it was the tendency for those high in inattention to neglect preparatory proactive control, especially when reactive control options were available.

scholarly journals Voluntary task switching under load: Contribution of top-down and bottom-up factors in goal-directed behavior

2010 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 387-393 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jelle Demanet ◽  
Frederick Verbruggen ◽  
Baptist Liefooghe ◽  
André Vandierendonck
Keyword(s):  
Task Switching ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Bottom Up ◽  
Voluntary Task Switching ◽  
Goal Directed Behavior

scholarly journals No evidence of the effect of cognitive load on self-paced cycling performance

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Darias Holgado ◽  
Mikel Zabala ◽  
Daniel Sanabria
Keyword(s):  
Heart Rate ◽  
Working Memory ◽  
Cognitive Load ◽  
Power Output ◽  
Memory Load ◽  
Load Condition ◽  
Anecdotal Evidence ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Working Memory Load ◽  
Back Task

Objectives: to test the hypothesis that cognitive load (low vs. high load) during a 20 min self-paced cycling exercise affects physical performance.Design: A pre-registered (https://osf.io/qept5/), randomized, within-subject design experiment.Methods: 28 trained and experienced male cyclists completed a 20 min self-paced cycling time-trial exercise in two separate sessions, corresponding to two working memory load conditions: 1-back or 2-back. We measured power output, heart rate, RPE and mental fatigue.Results: Bayes analyses revealed extreme evidence for the 2-back task being more demanding than the 1-back task, both in terms of accuracy (BF10 = 4490) and reaction time (BF =1316). The data only showed anecdotal evidence for the alternative hypothesis for the power output (BF10= 1.52), moderate evidence for the null hypothesis for the heart rate (BF10 = 0.172), anecdotal evidence for RPE (BF10 = 0.72) and anecdotal evidence for mental fatigue (BF10 = 0.588).Conclusions: Our data seem to challenge the idea that self-paced exercise is regulated by top-down processing, given that we did not show clear evidence of exercise impairment (at the physical, physiological and subjective levels) in the high cognitive load condition task with respect to the low working memory load condition. The involvement of top-down processing in self-pacing the physical effort, however, cannot be totally discarded. Factors like the duration of the physical and cognitive tasks, the potential influence of dual-tasking, and the participants’ level of expertise, should be taken into account in future attempts to investigate the role of top-down processing in self-pace exercise

scholarly journals Neural Correlates of Task-related Refixation Behaviour

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Radha Nila Meghanathan ◽  
Cees van Leeuwen ◽  
Marcello Giannini ◽  
Andrey R. Nikolaev
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Memory Load ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Working Memory Load ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Task Relevance ◽  
Two Factors ◽  
Related Potentials ◽  
Task Irrelevant ◽  
Saccade Preparation

AbstractInformation uptake during scene viewing under free viewing conditions is crucially determined by the scanning plan. This plan is determined both by top-down and bottom-up factors. To capture top-down factors affecting saccade planning, we compared EEG between first fixations and refixations on items varying in task-relevance. First fixations and refixations impose different working memory costs because first fixations involve encoding of new items whereas refixations involve rehearsal of existing items in working memory. These memory requirements also differ with the task-relevance of the item being encoded. Together, these two factors of task-relevance and memory processes related to refixation behavior would affect saccade planning. In a visual task involving search and memorization of multiple targets, we compared saccade-related potentials (SRPs) between first fixations and refixations for task-relevant (target) and task-irrelevant (distractor) items. We assessed the interval preceding a saccade away from the fixation of interest. Studying this presaccadic interval revealed how mechanisms related to saccade preparation are affected by task-relevance and refixation behavior. We found higher SRP amplitudes for first fixations than refixations over the occipital region for task-relevant items only. Our findings indicate that saccade planning is modulated by both task-relevance of an item and working memory load.

scholarly journals Working Memory Load Influence on Control of Attention among Malaysian Undergraduates

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Khairun Emylyana Amin ◽  
Fitri Suraya Mohamad
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Reaction Time ◽  
Task Switching ◽  
Memory Load ◽  
Memory Task ◽  
Full Time ◽  
Working Memory Load ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Quasi Experimental ◽  
And Task

The study investigates how working memory affects students' control of attention. A quasi-experimental research is conducted individually on 52 undergraduates of a public university in Malaysia, enrolled in various full-time undergraduate programmes, using Sternberg memory task and Task-switching tests. The reaction time is taken in milliseconds (ms) to differentiate the results for both tasks. The analysis revealed that when memory load was increased, reaction time also escalated. In the task-switching test, when one task was given at any one time, the reaction time was swift; however, when two or more tasks were integrated into one task, the reaction time would subsequently decelerated. Although the study also revealed that there is no significant difference between genders in terms of handling memory load and task-switching. However, a significant relationship was observed in performances between memory load and task-switching. It is also evidenced in the study that when memory load increases, it compounds the reaction time for task-switching. Results from the study inform course instructors to be aware of cognitive load when chunking information and assigning tasks to students, as their decisions on content quantity bore an effect on what would be remembered when students learn.  

Visual Search Facilitation in Repeated Displays Depends on Visuospatial Working Memory

2012 ◽  
Vol 59 (1) ◽  
pp. 47-54 ◽  
Author(s):  
Angela A. Manginelli ◽  
Franziska Geringswald ◽  
Stefan Pollmann
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Visual Search ◽  
Control Experiment ◽  
Memory Load ◽  
Contextual Cueing ◽  
Long Term Memory ◽  
Visuospatial Working Memory ◽  
Working Memory Load ◽  
Memory Resources

When distractor configurations are repeated over time, visual search becomes more efficient, even if participants are unaware of the repetition. This contextual cueing is a form of incidental, implicit learning. One might therefore expect that contextual cueing does not (or only minimally) rely on working memory resources. This, however, is debated in the literature. We investigated contextual cueing under either a visuospatial or a nonspatial (color) visual working memory load. We found that contextual cueing was disrupted by the concurrent visuospatial, but not by the color working memory load. A control experiment ruled out that unspecific attentional factors of the dual-task situation disrupted contextual cueing. Visuospatial working memory may be needed to match current display items with long-term memory traces of previously learned displays.

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