Effects Of Directed Memory Cues On Visual Working Memory Retrieval

Human beings receive most of the information through visual channels into the brain for processing.Individuals need a real-time working platform that can store,process and refresh these visual information.This real-time analysis platform of visual information is called visual working memory system.The memory capacity of visual working system is limited.Generally speaking,the capacity of visual working memory is 3~4.Cues play an important role in the retrieval of visual working memory.What is the effect of directed memory cues on the retrieval of visual working memory?In this study,behavioral and ERPs experiments were used to investigate the effects of directed memory cues on visual working memory retrieval.Study 1 used behavioral experiment to present three memory arrays of two groups of memory items in left and right visual field sequence,and investigated the effect of directel memory cues on visual working memory retrieval.Simple shape was used as stimulus material and change detection paradigm was used for experimental study.The experiment was designed with 2(cue condition: cue and no cue)×2(directed memory condition: directed forgetting and directed remembering).The results showed that the accuracy of the cued condition was significantly lower than that of the no cued condition,and the response time of the cued condition was significantly faster than that of the no cues condition.Experiment 2 used the same experimental design and materials as experiment 1.Two groups of memory arrays with 2 items were presented in the left and right visual field sequence.The results showed that there was no significant difference between the correct rate of cued condition and that of no cued condition,and the response time of cued condition was significantly faster than that of no cued condition.The result showed that: memory cues on the retrieval of visual working memory is regulated by the number of memory items.The study two used the same experimental materials and cue conditions to present two groups of memory arrays in both left and right visual fields for ERPs.An ERPs study was conducted to investigate the effects of directed memory cues on visual working memory retrieval.In experiment 3,the number of items in memory array was 3,and in experiment 4,the number of items in memory array was 2.The effects of directed memory cues on visual working memory retrieval were investigated.The results showed that when the number of memory array items was 3,there was no significant difference between the accuracy under the condition of directedremembering and directed forgetting,but the response time was significantly faster than that under the condition of no cues.When the number of memory array items was 2,the accuracy under the condition of directed remembering and directed forgetting was significantly higher than that under the condition of no cues.The reaction time was significantly faster than that of the no cues condition.To study the changes of contralateral and ipsilateral EEG with and no cues during the interval between the two records of behavioral data and memory arrays,and to compare whether the contralateral and ipsilateral EEG showed significant CDA under cued and no cue conditions.The results showed that the response time of cued condition was significantly less than that of no cue condition,and CDA was obvious in cued condition,but not in no cue condition.Conclusion: The retrieval of visual working memory by directional memory cues is regulated by the presentation mode of memory arrays;cued conditions significantly increase the activation intensity of contralateral brain waves,while no cue conditions do not significantly increase the activation intensity of contralateral brain waves,and two memory items at the same time cause greater brain activation than three memory items.Based on behavioral experiments and ERPs studies,the following conclusions can be drawn:(1)the retrieval of visual working memory by directed memory cues is regulated by the number of memory items;(2)the retrieval of visual working memory by directed memory cues is regulated by array presentation;(3)the cue condition obviously increase the activation intensity of the contralateral brain wave,and there was obvious CDA.The no cue condition don’t significantly increase the activation intensity of the contralateral brain wave,and there is no obvious CDA.The experimental results show that the presence of two memory items at the same time cause greater brain activation than the presence of three memory items at the same time.