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The vulnerability of working memory to distraction is rhythmic

View ORCID ProfileMalte Wöstmann, Troby Ka-Yan Lui, Kai-Hendrik Friese, View ORCID ProfileJens Kreitewolf, Malte Naujokat, View ORCID ProfileJonas Obleser
doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.02.26.965848
Malte Wöstmann
Department of Psychology, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany
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Troby Ka-Yan Lui
Department of Psychology, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany
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Kai-Hendrik Friese
Department of Psychology, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany
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Jens Kreitewolf
Department of Psychology, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany
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Malte Naujokat
Department of Psychology, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany
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  • For correspondence: malte.woestmann@uni-luebeck.de jonas.obleser@uni-luebeck.de
Jonas Obleser
Department of Psychology, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany
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  • For correspondence: malte.woestmann@uni-luebeck.de jonas.obleser@uni-luebeck.de
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Abstract

Recent research posits that the cognitive system samples target stimuli in a rhythmic fashion, characterized by target detection fluctuating at frequencies of ∼3–8 Hz. Besides prioritized encoding of targets, a key cognitive function is the protection of working memory from distractor intrusion. Here, we test to which degree the vulnerability of working memory to distraction is rhythmic. In an Irrelevant-Speech Task, N = 23 human participants had to retain the serial order of nine numbers in working memory while being distracted by task-irrelevant speech with variable temporal onsets. The magnitude of the distractor-evoked N1 component in the event-related potential as well as behavioural recall accuracy, both measures of memory distraction, were periodically modulated by distractor onset time in approximately 2–4 cycles per second (Hz). Critically, an underlying 2.5-Hz rhythm explained variation in both measures of distraction such that stronger phasic distractor encoding mediated lower phasic memory recall accuracy. In a behavioural follow-up experiment, we tested whether these results would replicate in a task design without rhythmic presentation of target items. Participants (N = 6 with on average >2,500 trials, each) retained two line-figures in memory while being distracted by acoustic noise of varying onset across trials. In agreement with the main experiment, the temporal onset of the distractor periodically modulated memory performance. Together, these results suggest that during working memory retention, the human cognitive system implements distractor suppression in a temporally dynamic fashion, reflected in ∼400-ms long cycles of high versus low distractibility.

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The copyright holder for this preprint is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. It is made available under a CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license.
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Posted February 26, 2020.
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The vulnerability of working memory to distraction is rhythmic
Malte Wöstmann, Troby Ka-Yan Lui, Kai-Hendrik Friese, Jens Kreitewolf, Malte Naujokat, Jonas Obleser
bioRxiv 2020.02.26.965848; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.02.26.965848
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The vulnerability of working memory to distraction is rhythmic
Malte Wöstmann, Troby Ka-Yan Lui, Kai-Hendrik Friese, Jens Kreitewolf, Malte Naujokat, Jonas Obleser
bioRxiv 2020.02.26.965848; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.02.26.965848

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