The effect of visual pulse stimuli on the guidance of attention during working memory processing

The storage represented by working memory (WM) is subject to dynamic changes. It is unclear how these dynamic changes affect visual search processes. This study investigated the impact of WM representation dynamics on attention guidance during the attention capture paradigm by manipulating WM representation activation through the presentation of visual pulse stimuli during the retention phase. The results showed that the attention capture effect based on WM was lower when visual pulse stimuli were presented compared to when no such stimuli were presented. Additionally, the attention capture effect based on WM was higher when visual pulse stimuli were presented early, compared to when they were presented late or not presented at all. Brain electrical recordings revealed that WM representation was activated after the presentation of visual pulse stimuli, but this activation continued over time…