Task Termination Triggers Spontaneous Removal of Information From Visual Working Memory

Hiroyuki Tsubomi*, Keisuke Fukuda, Atsushi Kikumoto, Ulrich Mayr, Edward K. Vogel

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

1 Scopus citations

Abstract

Working memory (WM) is a goal-directed memory system that actively maintains a limited amount of task-relevant information to serve the current goal. By this definition, WM maintenance should be terminated after the goal is accomplished, spontaneously removing no-longer-relevant information from WM. Past studies have failed to provide direct evidence of spontaneous removal of WM content by allowing participants to engage in a strategic reallocation of WM resources to competing information within WM. By contrast, we provide direct neural and behavioral evidence that visual WM content can be largely removed less than 1 s after it becomes obsolete, in the absence of a strategic allocation of resources (total N = 442 adults). These results demonstrate that visual WM is intrinsically a goal-directed system, and spontaneous removal provides a means for capacity-limited WM to keep up with ever-changing demands in a dynamic environment.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)995-1009
Number of pages15
JournalPsychological Science
Volume35
Issue number9
DOIs
StatePublished - 2024/09

Keywords

  • capacity limit
  • delay activity
  • forgetting
  • open data
  • open materials
  • working memory

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Psychology

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