Turning Attention Inside Out: How Working Memory Serves Behavior.

Annu Rev Psychol

Departments of Experimental Psychology and Psychiatry, Oxford Centre for Human Brain Activity, and Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom; email:

Published: January 2023

AI Article Synopsis

  • Flexible behavior is influenced by both immediate sensations and relevant memories accessed through working memory.
  • Selective attention plays a crucial role in managing these memories (inside-out) and balancing this with sensory information (outside-in).
  • The review examines the mechanisms of selective attention within working memory, focusing on its purpose, targets, and timing, ultimately highlighting its impact on understanding cognitive processes and behavioral guidance.

Article Abstract

Flexible behavior requires guidance not only by sensations that are available immediately but also by relevant mental contents carried forward through working memory. Therefore, selective-attention functions that modulate the contents of working memory to guide behavior (inside-out) are just as important as those operating on sensory signals to generate internal contents (outside-in). We review the burgeoning literature on selective attention in the inside-out direction and underscore its functional, flexible, and future-focused nature. We discuss in turn the purpose (why), targets (what), sources (when), and mechanisms (how) of selective attention inside working memory, using visual working memory as a model. We show how the study of internal selective attention brings new insights concerning the core cognitive processes of attention and working memory and how considering selective attention and working memory together paves the way for a rich and integrated understanding of how mind serves behavior.

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http://dx.doi.org/10.1146/annurev-psych-021422-041757DOI Listing

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