Different states in visual working memory: when it guides attention and when it does not

Recent studies have revealed a strong relationship between visual working memory and selective attention, such that attention is biased by what is currently on our mind. However, other data show that not all memorized items influence the deployment of attention, thus calling for a distinction within working memory: whereas active memory items function as an attentional template and directly affect perception, other, accessory items do not. We review recent evidence that items compete for the status of ‘attentional template’ that contains only one object at a time. Neurophysiological results provide insight into these different memory states by revealing a more intricate organization of working memory than was previously thought. Recent studies have revealed a strong relationship between visual working memory and selective attention, such that attention is biased by what is currently on our mind. However, other data show that not all memorized items influence the deployment of attention, thus calling for a distinction within working memory: whereas active memory items function as an attentional template and directly affect perception, other, accessory items do not. We review recent evidence that items compete for the status of ‘attentional template’ that contains only one object at a time. Neurophysiological results provide insight into these different memory states by revealing a more intricate organization of working memory than was previously thought. the act or state of selective concentration on a particular aspect of the environment. item in WM that is not relevant to the task at hand. model proposing that visual input competes for selective processing. Competition is biased in favor of task-relevant information matching task-related WM content. representing different sources of information in uncorrelated (i.e. independent) coding patterns across the same population of neurons. WM representation of the target in a visual search task to which incoming information is matched. storage and manipulation of a limited amount of information for cognitive tasks.