Can irrelevant self-related information in working memory be actively suppressed?

To utilize the resource of working memory efficiently, the brain actively suppresses irrelevant information to focus cognitive resources on the task at hand. However, whether task-irrelevant self-related information can be suppressed is still an open question. This study explores the inhibitory effects of various types of identity-associated information (self, friend, stranger) with an irrelevant distracting paradigm, in which participants are required to memorize the color while ignoring the shape during a memory array.

Topological difference between target and flankers alleviates crowding effect.

In the crowding effect, object recognition in the periphery deteriorates when other items flank the target, especially if they share similarities. Here, we report that the similarity defined by topological property (differences in number of holes) influences the crowding effect. Orientation discrimination tasks suggested that the crowding effect was weaker with a topological different (TD) flanker than a topological equivalent (TE) flanker and an existing inward-outward anisotropy phenomenon.