The Bandwidth of VWM Consolidation Varies With the Stimulus Feature: Evidence From Event-Related Potentials

Our previous work suggests that 2 colors can be consolidated into visual short-term memory (VSTM) in parallel without a loss of memory precision, whereas consolidation of 2 orientations is performed in a strictly serial manner. Those experiments compared VSTM performance for simultaneously and sequentially presented stimuli. However, there is still controversy about whether the bandwidth for consolidation is determined by the type of information. To further investigate this issue, here we measured electroencephalography while participants attempted to consolidate 1, 2 or 4 simultaneously presented colors (Experiment 1) or orientations (Experiment 2) under limited presentation times. We used…

Control of N-Heterocyclic Carbene Catalyzed Reactions of Enals: Asymmetric Synthesis of Oxindole-γ-Amino Acid Derivatives.

A strategy to control the switch between a non‐cycloaddition reaction and a cycloaddition reaction of enals, using N‐heterocyclic carbene (NHC) catalyisis, has been developed. The new scalable protocol leads to γ‐amino‐acid esters bearing a tetrasubstituted stereocenter in good yields and high stereoselectivities by homo‐Mannich reactions of enals and isatin‐derived ketimines. By simply changing the N‐ketimine substituent to an ortho‐hydroxy phenyl group, the corresponding spirocyclic oxindolo‐γ‐lactams are obtained. peerReviewed

Strategic inhibition of distractors with visual working memory contents after involuntary attention capture

AbstractPrevious research has suggested that visual working memory (VWM) contents had a guiding effect on selective attention, and once participants realized that the distractors shared the same information with VWM contents in the search task, they would strategically inhibit the potential distractors with VWM contents. However, previous behavioral studies could not reveal the way how distractors with VWM contents are inhibited strategically. By employing the eye-tracking technique and a dual-task paradigm, we manipulated the probability of memory items occurring as distractors to explore this issue. Consistent with previous behavioral studies, the results showed that the inhibitory effect…

Negative emotional state modulates visual working memory in the late consolidation phase

Although a considerable literature has grown up around the interactions between emotional state and visual working memory (VWM) performance, the mechanism underlying the impact of the negative emotional state on VWM remains unclear. The present study aimed to test whether the influence of emotional state is related to the early phase or late phase of VWM consolidation process. Across three experiments, we found that the negative emotional state did not affect VWM performance when the presentation time of stimuli was short. However, when the presentation time was long, the negative emotional state increased the VWM precision and reduced the VWM number. According to the two-phase model propos…

Retro-dimension-cue benefit in visual working memory

AbstractIn visual working memory (VWM) tasks, participants’ performance can be improved by a retro-object-cue. However, previous studies have not investigated whether participants’ performance can also be improved by a retro-dimension-cue. Three experiments investigated this issue. We used a recall task with a retro-dimension-cue in all experiments. In Experiment 1, we found benefits from retro-dimension-cues compared to neutral cues. This retro-dimension-cue benefit is reflected in an increased probability of reporting the target, but not in the probability of reporting the non-target, as well as increased precision with which this item is remembered. Experiment 2 replicated the retro-dime…

The bilateral field advantage effect in memory precision.

Previous research has demonstrated that visual working memory performance is better when visual items are allocated in both left and right visual fields than within only one hemifield. This phenomenon is called the bilateral field advantage (BFA). The BFA is thought to be driven by an enhanced probability of storage, rather than by greater precision. In the present experiments, we sought to test whether the BFA can also extend to precision when the parameters of the task are modified. Using a moderate number of to-be-remembered items and 400 ms presentation time, we found better precision in the bilateral condition than in the unilateral condition. The classic BFA was still found in the for…

Electrophysiological evidence supports the role of sustained visuospatial attention in maintaining visual WM contents

Recent empirical and theoretical work suggests that there is a close relationship between visual working memory (WM) and visuospatial attention. Here, we investigated whether visuospatial attention was involved in maintaining object representations in visual WM. To this end, the alpha lateralization and contralateral delay activity (CDA) were analyzed as neural markers for visuospatial attention and visual WM storage, respectively. In the single-task condition, participants performed a grating change-detection task. To probe the role of visuospatial attention in maintaining WM contents, two color squares were presented above and below the fixation point during the retention interval, which …

Interval between two sequential arrays determines their storage state in visual working memory.

AbstractThe visual information can be stored as either “active” representations in the active state or “activity-silent” representations in the passive state during the retention period in visual working memory (VWM). Catering to the dynamic nature of visual world, we explored how the temporally dynamic visual input was stored in VWM. In the current study, the memory arrays were presented sequentially, and the contralateral delay activity (CDA), an electrophysiological measure, was used to identify whether the memory representations were transferred into the passive state. Participants were instructed to encode two sequential arrays and retrieve them respectively, with two conditions of int…

N-Heterocyclic Carbene Catalyzed [3+2] Cycloaddition of Enals with Masked Cinnamates for the Asymmetric One-Pot Synthesis of Adipic Acid Derivatives.

A novel short entry to 3,4-disubstituted adipic acids has been developed by employing an asymmetric NHC-catalyzed [3+2] cycloaddition of enals with masked cinnammates in moderate to good yields and high stereoselectivities. The synthetic utility of the protocol was demonstrated by the basic conversion of the masked cyclopentanone intermediates to 3S,4S-disubstituted adipic acid precursors of pharmaceutically important gababutins.

N-Heterocyclic Carbene Catalyzed Quadruple Domino Reactions through α,β-Unsaturated Acyl Azolium Intermediates : Asymmetric Synthesis of Cyclopenta[c]chromenones

An N‐heterocyclic carbene catalyzed domino sequence via α,β‐unsaturated acyl azolium intermediates has been developed. This strategy provides a convenient enantioselective route to functionalized tricyclic coumarin derivatives and cyclopentanes. DFT studies and control experiments were performed to gain better insight into the reaction mechanism. peerReviewed

Negative emotional state modulates visual working memory in the late consolidation phase

Although a considerable literature has grown up around the interactions between emotional state and visual working memory (VWM) performance, the mechanism underlying the impact of the negative emotional state on VWM remains unclear. The present study aimed to test whether the influence of emotional state is related to the early phase or late phase of VWM consolidation process. Across three experiments, we found that the negative emotional state did not affect VWM performance when the presentation time of stimuli was short. However, when the presentation time was long, the negative emotional state increased the VWM precision and reduced the VWM number. According to the two-phase model propos…

Novel heterobimetallic radiotheranostic: preparation, activity, and biodistribution.

A novel Ru(II) (arene) theranostic complex is presented. It is based on a 1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane-1,4,7,10-tetraacetic acid macrocycle bearing a triarylphosphine and can be tracked in vivo by using the γ emission of (153) Sm atoms. Notably, the heteroditopic ligand can be selectively metalated with ruthenium at the phosphorus atom despite the presence of other functionalities that are prone to metal coordination. Subsequent labeling with radionuclides such as (153) Sm can then be performed easily. The resulting heterobimetallic complex exhibits favorable solubility and stability properties in biologically relevant media. It also shows in vitro cytotoxicity in line with that expected …

Asymmetric synthesis of functionalized tetrahydrofluorenones via an NHC-catalyzed homoenolate Michael addition

The first example of an N-heterocyclic carbene-catalyzed asymmetric desymmetrization of enal-tethered cyclohexadienones via an intramolecular homoenolate Michael addition/esterification reaction is described. This new protocol offers a direct entry to various functionalized tetrahydrofluorenones with three contiguous stereocenters in high yields, good diastereoselectivities and excellent enantioselectivities.

Individual differences in working memory capacity are unrelated to the magnitudes of retrocue benefits

AbstractPrevious studies have associated visual working memory (VWM) capacity with the use of internal attention. Retrocues, which direct internal attention to a particular object or feature dimension, can improve VWM performance (i.e., retrocue benefit, RCB). However, so far, no study has investigated the relationship between VWM capacity and the magnitudes of RCBs obtained from object-based and dimension-based retrocues. The present study explored individual differences in the magnitudes of object- and dimension-based RCBs and their relationships with VWM capacity. Participants completed a VWM capacity measurement, an object-based cue task, and a dimension-based cue task. We confirmed tha…

Highly Enantioselective Kinetic Resolution of Michael Adducts through N-Heterocyclic Carbene Catalysis: An Efficient Asymmetric Route to Cyclohexenes

Ahighly efficient strategy for the kinetic resolu-tion of Michael adductswas realized using achiral N-het-erocyclic carbene catalyst.The kinetic resolution providesanew convenientroute to single diastereomers of cyclo-hexenes and Michael adducts in good yields with highenantiomeric excesses (up to 99 % ee with aselectivityfactor of up to 458). This “two flies with one swat” con-cept allows the synthesis of these two synthetically valua-ble compound classes at the same time by asingle trans-formation. peerReviewed

N-Heterocyclic Carbene-Catalyzed Activation of α-Chloroaldehydes: Asymmetric Synthesis of 5-Cyano-Substituted Dihydropyranones

An N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC)-catalyzed asymmetric [4+2] annulation of (E)-2-benzoyl-3-phenylacrylonitriles with α-chloroaldehydes has been developed. The protocol leads to 5-cyano-substituted dihydropyranones in good to excellent yields with excellent diastereo- and enantioselectivities (up to 93% yield, >20:1 d.r. and 99% ee).

Cover Feature: Highly Enantioselective Kinetic Resolution of Michael Adducts through N-Heterocyclic Carbene Catalysis: An Efficient Asymmetric Route to Cyclohexenes (Chem. Eur. J. 39/2018)

The impact of visual working memory capacity on the filtering efficiency of emotional face distractors.

Emotional faces can serve as distractors for visual working memory (VWM) tasks. An event-related potential called contralateral delay activity (CDA) can measure the filtering efficiency of face distractors. Previous studies have investigated the influence of VWM capacity on filtering efficiency of simple neutral distractors but not of face distractors. We measured the CDA indicative of emotional face filtering during a VWM task related to facial identity. VWM capacity was measured in a separate colour change detection task, and participants were divided to high- and low-capacity groups. The high-capacity group was able to filter out distractors similarly irrespective of its facial emotion. …

The passive state: A protective mechanism for information in working memory tasks.

Memory representations can be stored in a passive state in a visual working memory (VWM) task. However, it remains unclear whether the representations stored in the passive state are prone to interference and decay. To explore this issue, we asked participants to successively remember two sets of memory items (M1 and M2) in three test manners: a combined test (both M1 and M2 are probed simultaneously), a backward test (probe M2 first and M1 second), or a forward test (probe M1 first and M2 second). We found that the contralateral delay activity (CDA) amplitude after the onset of M2 only tracked M2 independently of M1 in the two separate tests (Experiments 1-3), and the accuracy of M1 was we…

Perceptual boost of stimulus memorability on visual short-term memory formation

N‐Heterocyclic Carbene Catalyzed Asymmetric Synthesis of Pentacyclic Spirooxindoles via [3+3] Annulations of Isatin‐Derived Enals and Cyclic N‐Sulfonyl Ketimines

The impact of retro-cue validity on working memory representation: Evidence from electroencephalograms.

Visual working memory (VWM) performance can be improved by retrospectively cueing an item. The validity of retro-cues has an impact on the mechanisms underlying the retro-cue effect, but how non-cued representations are handled under different retro-cue validity conditions is not yet clear. Here, we used electroencephalograms to investigate whether retro-cue validity can affect the fate of non-cued representations in VWM. The participants were required to perform a change-detection task using a retro-cue with 80% or 20% validity. Contralateral delay activity and the lateralized alpha power were used to assess memory storage and selective attention, respectively. The retro-cue could redirect…

N-Heterocyclic Carbene Catalyzed Asymmetric Synthesis of Pentacyclic Spirooxindoles via [3+3] Annulations of Isatin-Derived Enals and Cyclic N-Sulfonyl Ketimines

A convenient enantioselective route to new types of pentacyclic spirooxindoles via [3+3] annulation reactions of isatin-derived enals and cyclic N-sulfonyl ketimines, using N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) catalysis has been developed. The new protocol leads to pentacyclic spirooxindoles bearing a quaternary spirostereocenter in good yields and good to high enantiomeric ratios. peerReviewed

Negative and Positive Bias for Emotional Faces: Evidence from the Attention and Working Memory Paradigms

Visual attention and visual working memory (VWM) are two major cognitive functions in humans, and they have much in common. A growing body of research has investigated the effect of emotional information on visual attention and VWM. Interestingly, contradictory findings have supported both a negative bias and a positive bias toward emotional faces (e.g., angry faces or happy faces) in the attention and VWM fields. We found that the classical paradigms—that is, the visual search paradigm in attention and the change detection paradigm in VWM—are considerably similar. The settings of these paradigms could therefore be responsible for the contradictory results. In this paper, we compare previou…

Asymmetric Synthesis of Spiro-oxindole-ε-lactones through N-Heterocyclic Carbene Catalysis

An unprecedented N-heterocyclic carbene-catalyzed annulation of isatin-derived enals and o-hydroxyphenyl-substituted p-quinone methides as bifunctional reagents has been discovered. The new protocol involves a 1,6-addition of the homoenolate equivalent intermediates to the hydroxy donor-1,6-Michael acceptors and leads to spirocyclic oxindole-ε-lactones in high yields and very good stereoselectivities.

N‐Heterocyclic Carbene Catalyzed Quadruple Domino Reactions: Asymmetric Synthesis of Cyclopenta[ c ]chromenones

An N-heterocyclic carbene catalyzed domino sequence via α,β-unsaturated acyl azolium intermediates has been developed. This strategy provides a convenient enantioselective route to functionalized tricyclic coumarin derivatives and cyclopentanes. DFT studies and control experiments were performed to gain better insight into the reaction mechanism.

Limitations of concurrently representing objects within view and in visual working memory

AbstractRepresenting visibly present stimuli is as limited in capacity as representing invisible stimuli in visual working memory (WM). In this study, we explored whether concurrently representing stimuli within view affects representing objects in visual WM, and if so, whether this effect is modulated by the storage states (active and silent state) of memory contents? In experiment 1, participants were asked to perform the change-detect task in a simultaneous-representing condition in which WM content and the continuously-visible stimuli in view were simultaneously represented, as well as a baseline condition in which only the representations of visual WM content were maintained. The resul…

The two-stage process in visual working memory consolidation

AbstractTwo hypotheses have been proposed to explain the formation manner for visual working memory (VWM) representations during the consolidation process: an all-or-none process hypothesis and a coarse-to-fine process hypothesis. However, neither the all-or-none process hypothesis nor the coarse-to-fine process hypothesis can stipulate clearly how VWM representations are formed during the consolidation process. In the current study, we propose a two-stage process hypothesis to reconcile these hypotheses. The two-stage process hypothesis suggests that the consolidation of coarse information is an all-or-none process in the early consolidation stage, while the consolidation of detailed infor…

A Two-Phase Model of Resource Allocation in Visual Working Memory

Two broad theories of visual working memory (VWM) storage have emerged from current research, a discrete slot-based theory and a continuous resource theory. However, neither the discrete slot-based theory or continuous resource theory clearly stipulates how the mental commodity for VWM (discrete slot or continuous resource) is allocated. Allocation may be based on the number of items via stimulus-driven factors, or it may be based on task demands via voluntary control. Previous studies have obtained conflicting results regarding the automaticity versus controllability of such allocation. In the current study, we propose a two-phase allocation model, in which the mental commodity could be al…

Transcranial direct current stimulation over the right DLPFC selectively modulates subprocesses in working memory

Background Working memory, as a complex system, consists of two independent components: manipulation and maintenance process, which are defined as executive control and storage process. Previous studies mainly focused on the overall effect of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) on working memory. However, little has been known about the segregative effects of tDCS on the sub-processes within working memory. Method Transcranial direct current stimulation, as one of the non-invasive brain stimulation techniques, is being widely used to modulate the cortical activation of local brain areas. This study modified a spatial n-back experiment with anodal and cathodal tDCS exertion on th…

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…

Sad and fearful face distractors do not consume working memory resources in depressed adults

Previous studies have shown that task-irrelevant threatening faces (e.g., fearful faces) are difficult to filter from visual working memory (VWM; Stout et al., 2013). What is not known, however, is whether non-threatening negative faces (e.g., sad faces) are also difficult to filter and whether depressive symptoms affect filtering ability. We used a color-change detection task to test whether task-irrelevant sad and fearful face distractors could be filtered by healthy participants and by depressed participants. The groups differed in their filtering ability, as indicated by the contralateral delay activity, a specific ERP index for the number of objects stored in the VWM during the mainten…

N‐Heterocyclic Carbene Catalyzed [4+2] Annulation of Enals via a Double Vinylogous Michael Addition: Asymmetric Synthesis of 3,5‐Diaryl Cyclohexenones

A strategy for the N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) catalyzed asymmetric synthesis of 3,5-diaryl substituted cyclohexenones has been developed via oxidative [4+2] annulation of enals and alkenylisoxazoles. It is the first example of using NHC organocatalysis in a double vinylogous Michael type reaction, a challenging but highly desirable topic. This unprecedented protocol affords good yields as well as high to excellent diastereo- and enantioselectivities.

Individual Differences in Working Memory Capacity Are Unrelated to the Magnitude of Benefits from Object- and Dimension-Based Retro-Cues

The mechanism of retro-cue effect in visual working memory : Cognitive phase separation

Retro-cue effect (RCE) refers to the phenomenon that individuals can use retro-cues to improve their visual working memory (VWM) performance of target items after memory stimuli disappear. To explain the mechanism of RCE in VWM, five different hypotheses have been proposed by previous studies: the hypothesis of enhancing target representations, the hypothesis of forgetting non-target representations, the hypothesis of preventing memory degradation, the hypothesis of preventing interference from probe array and the hypothesis of cognitive phase separation. Although RCE has been repeatedly observed in previous studies, the mechanism of RCE remains unclear. In this study, we conducted three ex…

Electrophysiological Correlates of Change Detection during Delayed Matching Task: A Comparison of Different References

Detecting the changed information between memory representation and incoming sensory inputs is a fundamental cognitive ability. By offering the promise of excellent temporal resolution, event-related potential (ERP) technique has served as a primary tool for studying this process with reference of the linked mastoid (LM). However, given that LM may distort the ERP signals, it is still undetermined whether LM is the best reference choice. The goal of the current study was to systematically compare LM, reference electrode standardization technique (REST) and average reference (AR) for assessing the ERP correlates of change detection during a delayed matching task. Colored shapes were adopted …

Working memory capacity affects trade-off between quality and quantity only when stimulus exposure duration is sufficient : Evidence for the two-phase model

AbstractThe relation between visual working memory (VWM) capacity and attention has attracted much interest. In this study, we investigated the correlation between the participants’ VWM capacity and their ability to voluntarily trade off the precision and number of items remembered. The two-phase resource allocation model proposed by Ye et al. (2017) suggests that for a given set size, it takes a certain amount of consolidation time for an individual to control attention to adjust the VWM resources to trade off the precision and number. To verify whether trade-off ability varies across VWM capacity, we measured each individual’s VWM capacity and then conducted a colour recall task to examin…

Individual Differences in Working Memory Capacity Are Unrelated to the Magnitude of Benefits from Object- and Dimension-Based Retro-Cues

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