Retrospective attention enhances visual working memory in the young but not the old: an ERP study.

ABSTRACT: Behavioral evidence from the young suggests spatial cues that orient attention toward task-relevant items in visual working memory (VWM) enhance memory capacity. Whether older adults can also use retrospective cues ("retro-cues") to enhance VWM capacity is unknown. In the current event-related potential (ERP) study, young and old adults performed a VWM task in which spatially informative retro-cues were presented during maintenance. Young but not older adults' VWM capacity benefited from retro-cueing. The contralateral delay activity (CDA) ERP index of VWM maintenance was attenuated after the retro-cue, which effectively reduced the impact of memory load. CDA amplitudes were reduced prior to retro-cue onset in the old only. Despite a preserved ability to delete items from VWM, older adults

SUBMITTER: Duarte A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3618566 | biostudies-literature | 2013 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature