Sustained attention required for effective dimension-based retro-cue benefit in visual working memory

In visual working memory (VWM) tasks, participants’ performances can be improved through the use of dimension-based retro-cues, which direct internal attention to prioritize a particular dimension (e.g., color or orientation) of VWM representations even after the stimuli disappear. This phenomenon is known as the dimension-based retro-cue benefit (RCB). The present study investigates whether sustained attention is required for the dimension-based RCB by inserting interference or interruption between the retro-cue and the test array to distract attention. We tested the effects of perceptual interference or cognitive interruption on dimension-based RCB when the interference (Experiments 1 and 2 with masks) or interruption (Experiments 3 and 4 with an odd-even task) occurred concurrently with the stages for the maintenance of prioritized information (long cue-and-interference/interruption interstimulus interval, e.g., Experiments 1 and 3) or the deployment of attention (short cue-and-interference/interruption interstimulus interval, e.g., Experiments 2 and 4). Our results demonstrate that perceptual interference or cognitive interruption attenuates the dimension-based RCB. These findings suggest that sustained attention is necessary for the effective prioritization of a specific dimension of VWM representations.

Keywords: visual short-term memory, retro-cue, dimension, interference, dual task, sustained attention

**RL and LG contributed equally to this work and should be considered as co-first authors.

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Recommended citation: Liu, R., Guo, L., Sun, H., Parviainen, T., Zhou, Z., Cheng, Y., Liu, Q., & Ye, C. (2023). Sustained attention required for effective dimension-based retro-cue benefit in visual working memory. Journal of Vision, 23(5), 13. https://doi.org/10.1167/jov.23.5.13