We have two cognitive brown bags left this quarter. Please join us next week on Thursday 5/17 from 12 – 1:30pm in Beecher 101. Lunch will be provided.
Elizabeth Allen, a grad student in Steve Shevell’s lab, will present Investigating the excitatory and inhibitory mechanisms of working memory with perceptual tasks.
Abstract: For nearly 15 years, there has been debate in the working memory literature over the critical source of individual differences in working memory capacity (WMC). One influential view is that inhibitory processes alone account for variation in WMC (e.g., Hasher & Zacks, 1988). Others, however, propose that the ability to keep relevant representations in an excited state also makes an important contribution to these individual differences (e.g., Kane & Engle, 2004).
I will present two experiments that explore the inhibitory and excitatory mechanisms of working memory in a novel way: using “lower-level” perceptual tasks. Experiment 1 exploits the steady-state visual evoked potential (SSVEP) signal of the EEG to simultaneously examine excitation and inhibition of the two alternative interpretations of the Necker cube in low- and high-WMC individuals. Using binocular rivalry, Experiment 2 demonstrates a significant relation between WMC and experiencing a percept that can only be accounted for by inhibition (but not experiencing percepts that can be accounted for equally well by excitation, inhibition, or a combination of the two).
Mark your calendars for our May 24th brown bag with Loran Nordgren.
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