Author name cluster

Jan Theeuwes

Possible papers associated with this exact author name in Arrow. This page groups case-insensitive exact name matches and is not a full identity disambiguation profile.

4 papers

1 author row

YNIMG Journal 2022 Journal Article

Long-term memory retrieval bypasses working memory

Baiwei Liu
Xinyu Li
Jan Theeuwes
Benchi Wang

For decades, it has been assumed that when humans retrieve information from long-term memory (LTM), information need first to be brought back into working memory (WM). However, as WM capacity is limited, it is unclear what happens if information from LTM needs to be retrieved while WM is fully engaged? To address this question, observers had to retrieve colors from LTM while WM storage capacity was fully engaged. The behavioral results showed that retrieving information from LTM is possible even when WM capacity is fully occupied. Additional evidence from electroencephalogram (EEG) confirmed that WM was fully engaged as the suppression of alpha oscillation reached its maximum when memorizing the maximum amount of information into WM; yet the suppression in alpha oscillation was even further amplified when items were retrieved simultaneously from LTM, providing a neural signature of additional LTM retrieval capacity above and beyond the maximum WM capacity. Together, our findings indicate that information retrieved from LTM does not always have to be brought back into WM, but instead might be accessed through a different mechanism when WM is fully engaged.

Details DOI

YNIMG Journal 2021 Journal Article

Multivariate analysis of EEG activity indexes contingent attentional capture

Jaap Munneke
Johannes Jacobus Fahrenfort
David Sutterer
Jan Theeuwes
Edward Awh

An extensive body of work has shown that attentional capture is contingent on the goals of the observer: Capture is strongly reduced or even eliminated when an irrelevant singleton stimulus does not match the target-defining properties (Folk et al., 1992). There has been a long-standing debate on whether attentional capture can be explained by goal-driven and/or stimulus-driven accounts. Here, we shed further light on this matter by using EEG activity (raw EEG and alpha power) to provide a time-resolved index of attentional orienting towards salient stimuli that either matched or did not match target-defining properties. A search display containing the target stimulus was preceded by a spatially uninformative singleton cue that either matched the color of the upcoming target (contingent cues), or that appeared in an irrelevant color (non-contingent cues). Multivariate analysis of raw EEG and alpha power revealed preferential tuning to the location of both contingent and non-contingent cues, with a stronger bias towards contingent than non-contingent cues. The time course of these effects, however, depended on the neural signal. Raw EEG data revealed attentional orienting towards the contingent cue early on in the trial (>156 ms), while alpha power revealed sustained spatial selection in the cued locations at a later moment in the trial (>250 ms). Moreover, while raw EEG showed stronger capture by contingent cues during this early time window, an advantage for contingent cues arose during a later time window in alpha band activity. Thus, our findings suggest that raw EEG activity and alpha-band power tap into distinct neural processes that index separate aspects of covert spatial attention.

Details DOI

YNIMG Journal 2011 Journal Article

Early multisensory interactions affect the competition among multiple visual objects

Erik Van der Burg
Durk Talsma
Christian N.L. Olivers
Clayton Hickey
Jan Theeuwes

In dynamic cluttered environments, audition and vision may benefit from each other in determining what deserves further attention and what does not. We investigated the underlying neural mechanisms responsible for attentional guidance by audiovisual stimuli in such an environment. Event-related potentials (ERPs) were measured during visual search through dynamic displays consisting of line elements that randomly changed orientation. Search accuracy improved when a target orientation change was synchronized with an auditory signal as compared to when the auditory signal was absent or synchronized with a distractor orientation change. The ERP data show that behavioral benefits were related to an early multisensory interaction over left parieto-occipital cortex (50–60ms post-stimulus onset), which was followed by an early positive modulation (80–100ms) over occipital and temporal areas contralateral to the audiovisual event, an enhanced N2pc (210–250ms), and a contralateral negative slow wave (CNSW). The early multisensory interaction was correlated with behavioral search benefits, indicating that participants with a strong multisensory interaction benefited the most from the synchronized auditory signal. We suggest that an auditory signal enhances the neural response to a synchronized visual event, which increases the chances of selection in a multiple object environment.

Details DOI

YNIMG Journal 2004 Journal Article

Endogenous and exogenous attention shifts are mediated by the same large-scale neural network

Marius V Peelen
Dirk J Heslenfeld
Jan Theeuwes

Event-related fMRI was used to examine the neural basis of endogenous (top-down) and exogenous (bottom-up) spatial orienting. Shifts of attention were induced by central (endogenous) or peripheral (exogenous) cues. Reaction times on subsequently presented targets showed the expected pattern of facilitation and inhibition in both conditions. No difference in brain activity was observed when the two orienting conditions were contrasted with a liberal threshold, showing that both forms of orienting were mediated by the same neural network. Compared to within-block control trials, both endogenous and exogenous orienting activated a fronto-parietal network consisting of premotor cortex, posterior parietal cortex, medial frontal cortex and right inferior frontal cortex. Within these regions, equally strong activation was observed for both orienting conditions. It is concluded that endogenous and exogenous orienting are mediated by the same large-scale network of frontal and parietal brain areas.

Details DOI