Working with Distraction

HIGHLIGHTS

HIGHLIGHT ADVISORS ALLAN BASBAUM ATTENTION UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA SAN FRANCISCO, CA, USA RANDY BUCKNER Working with distraction WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY, MO, USA The interaction between attention DAVID CLAPHAM (the ability to focus on certain stimuli HARVARD MEDICAL SCHOOL, to the detriment of others) and work- MA, USA ing memory (the ability to hold and PIETRO DE CAMILLI manipulate information in mind) is a YALE UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF complex subject. It has been suggested MEDICINE, CT, USA that working memory might be cru- BARRY EVERITT cial in selective attention, and this idea UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE, received some much needed experi- UK mental support from a recent paper GORDON FISHELL from a team led by Nilli Lavie show- SKIRBALL INSTITUTE, NY, USA ing a causal role for working memory MARY KENNEDY in the control of selective attention. CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF Lavie had proposed that because triggered in the visual cortex. As During periods of high working TECHNOLOGY, CA, USA selective attention depends on active expected, subjects were slower to clas- memory demand, the subjects were LYNN NADEL maintenance of stimulus priorities in sify names paired with incongruent less able to filter out the distracting UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA, working memory, a high working faces than those paired with congru- faces to focus on the task of classifying AZ, USA memory load should result in greater ent faces, and the presence of distrac- the written names. The distractor DENNIS O’LEARY processing of irrelevant (low priority) tor faces enhanced activity in areas of faces produced greater interference THE SALK INSTITUTE FOR distractors. J. W.de Fockert and col- visual cortex that selectively respond during the naming task and greater BIOLOGICAL STUDIES, CA, USA leagues examined this issue using to faces. neural activity in visual cortex under TERRY SEJNOWSKI behavioural and fMRI techniques, in This task was interleaved with a conditions of high working memory THE SALK INSTITUTE FOR which subjects were required to per- task that taxes working memory for load. Interestingly, previous work has BIOLOGICAL STUDIES, CA, USA form two unrelated tasks. The first digit order, in which subjects were shown that increasing perceptual load WOLF SINGER task was a test of selective attention presented with a four-digit number can decrease the effect of distractors. MAX-PLANCK-INSTITUT FÜR that required the subjects to classify at the start of each trial. At the end of These data provide experimental HIRNFORSCHUNG, GERMANY famous written names as pop stars or each trial, after the selective attention support for the idea that working CLAUDIO STERN politicians while they ignored simul- task had been completed, they were memory is required to actively main- COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY, NY, taneously presented images of faces presented with one of the digits in tain stimulus priorities and that this is USA that acted as potential distractors. The the memorized sequence and were crucial for directing attention towards PATRICK TAM distractor faces were either congruent asked to recall the next digit. Memory relevant stimuli. This insight into the CHILDREN'S MEDICAL with the target name (for example, an load was manipulated on every trial interaction between working memory RESEARCH INSTITUTE, SYDNEY, image of Bill Clinton simultaneously by either presenting a fixed order of and selective attention will surely AUSTRALIA presented with his name), incongru- digits (low memory load) or a ran- encourage more experimental work RICHARD W. TSIEN ent with the target name (an image of dom sequence (high memory load). in this developing area. STANFORD UNIVERSITY Bill Clinton presented with the name The reaction time increased with Peter Collins SCHOOL OF MEDICINE, CA, USA of a pop star) or anonymous faces. higher memory load, which was also RAFAEL YUSTE References and links Processing of the distractor images associated with enhanced neural ORIGINAL RESEARCH PAPER de Fockert, J. W. COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY, NY, was assessed by measuring the inter- activity in prefrontal cortical areas. et al. The role of working memory in visual selective USA ference effects on the time it took to The key result, however, was the attention. Science 291, 1803–1806 (2001) FURTHER READING Desimone, R. & Duncan, classify the name as a pop star or interaction between memory load J. C. Neural mechanisms of selective visual politician, as well as the neural activity and selective attention. attention. Annu. Rev. Neurosci. 18, 193–222 (1995)