September 2024
Volume 24, Issue 10
Open Access
Vision Sciences Society Annual Meeting Abstract  |   September 2024
Flexible memory interplays: selective reactivation of long-term memories in working memory
Author Affiliations
  • Eren Günseli
    Sabanci University
  • Duygu Yücel
    Sabanci University
  • Nursena Ataseven
    Sabanci University
  • Yağmur Damla Şentürk
    Sabanci University
  • Nursima Ünver
    Sabanci University
  • Şahcan Özdemir
    Sabanci University
  • Lara Todorova
    Sabanci University
  • Berna Güler
    Sabanci University
  • Betül Türk
    Sabanci University
  • Can Demircan
    Sabanci University
  • Keisuke Fukuda
    University of Toronto
  • Christian N L Olivers
    Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
  • Tobias Egner
    Duke University
Journal of Vision September 2024, Vol.24, 1197. doi:https://doi.org/10.1167/jov.24.10.1197
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      Eren Günseli, Duygu Yücel, Nursena Ataseven, Yağmur Damla Şentürk, Nursima Ünver, Şahcan Özdemir, Lara Todorova, Berna Güler, Betül Türk, Can Demircan, Keisuke Fukuda, Christian N L Olivers, Tobias Egner; Flexible memory interplays: selective reactivation of long-term memories in working memory. Journal of Vision 2024;24(10):1197. https://doi.org/10.1167/jov.24.10.1197.

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      © ARVO (1962-2015); The Authors (2016-present)

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Abstract

Working memory is defined as the online storage space for ongoing tasks. It stores both newly encoded information and retrieved long-term memories. However, there is a growing amount of work to suggest that long-term memories can also guide behavior. This raises the question: Why do humans invest metabolic resources in reactivating long-term memories in working memory instead of guiding behavior directly via long-term memory? We conducted six experiments examining working memory reactivation of long-term memories in anticipation of task demands encompassing protection against interference, behavioral guidance, and adaptation to novel settings. Using behavioral and electrophysiological indices, we measured the extent to which long-term memories are reactivated in working memory in anticipation of these task demands relative to the anticipation of a recognition task, which constituted a baseline. Compared to this baseline, we found equal memory reactivation when anticipating perceptual interference and dual-task interference, and less memory reactivation when anticipating attentional guidance. On the other hand, reactivation was stronger for task switching, contextual changes, and performing mental operations. These results suggest that the reactivation of long-term memories in working memory is not primarily for protection against interference or behavioral guidance. Instead, stronger reactivation occurs when there is a need to update the memories themselves (i.e., perform a mental operation) or the settings in which they are used (i.e., the task rules and the context). This insight implies that the goal of reactivating long-term memories in working memory may be to facilitate adaptation to novel situations. Our research challenges influential memory models and recent empirical work that consider working memory as the default buffer for retrieved long-term memories and instead highlights a flexible and dynamic interplay between long-term memories and working memory.

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