Selective attention facilitates working memory retrieval, and selecting from WM resembles visual search¶
Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · reviewr2·q2
Currency · newest study 2012 · checked against its sources 2026-10-20 (automated, 1 of 1 entry) · not reviewed by a person
Subclaims¶
Reading the evidence codes
q is the design tier, i the impact, n the sample, and the kind with its r
the rigour judged within that kind: what each code means.
This claim: no standardized effect is recorded in observations/ for it yet, so no benchmark reading is possible.
q2 i? Spatial retro-cues abolished load-dependent ERP activity during WM search, showing attention can facilitate retrieval, though the stage of the effect remains unresolved. → Gazzaley A 2012
Evidence¶
Gazzaley A 2012¶
Gazzaley A, Nobre AC. (2012). Top-down modulation: Bridging selective attention and working memory. Trends in Cognitive Sciences. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2011.11.014
q2 · i? · review · r2
ERP study by Nobre and colleagues in which participants searched a WM array at loads 1-4; spatial retro-cues completely abolished the load-dependent search-related ERP. The review notes the effect's locus (retrieval versus maintenance) remained unclear.
"These results clearly show that selective attention can facilitate retrieval functions, but leaves it unclear as to whether the effect occurred at the time of retrieval"
Discussion¶
Related Claims¶
- Retro-cues during maintenance dynamically modulate working memory representations and confer large performance benefits — related
- Age-related deficits in top-down modulation underlie much of older adults' working memory impairment — related
- rTMS of right IFJ causally reduces top-down modulation during encoding and working memory accuracy — related
- Predictive cues aid transfer of perceptual representations into working memory via pre-encoding top-down modulation — related
- Perceptual attention and working memory are distinct entities that causally affect each other — related
- Retrieval P3 discriminates Same from Different trials only in non-ADHD adolescents, indicating a failure of post-selection prioritization in ADHD — related
- Perceptual attention is probably necessary but not sufficient for encoding stimuli into working memory — related
Page metadata
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
type |
claim |
id |
attention-facilitates-wm-retrieval |
title |
Selective attention facilitates working memory retrieval, and selecting from WM resembles visual search |
description |
Selective attention facilitates working memory retrieval, and selecting from WM resembles visual search |
status |
review |
evidence_strength |
weak |
newest_evidence |
2012 |
source_checked |
2026-10-20 |
generated |
by process:wiki-ingest on 2026-10-17 |
trust |
unverified — no one has confirmed this page's content |
sources |
1 — gazzaley-a-2012 |
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