Interactions Between Attention and Memory

Attention can take on many forms – it can be directed externally toward sensory information or internally toward self-generated information. It can be selective or sustained, and it can be goal-directed or spontaneous. A lot of research on attention-memory interactions has focused on selective, externally-directed attention, but we are constantly shifting between internally- and externally-directed attention and we can be distracted by both external and internal sources. There are also many instances in which we must maintain attention for long periods of time. To gain a more comprehensive understanding of the mechanisms by which attention and memory interact, more research is needed on the mnemonic consequences of the less investigated types of attention, such as internally-directed and sustained attention. In Chapters 2 and 3, I describe two electroencephalography (EEG) studies that investigated the neural mechanisms by which visual mental images that were generated during an internally-directed attention task are encoded into and retrieved from memory. Just as attention can be directed externally or internally, distraction can occur in various ways. For example, while listening to a lecture, our attention may be diverted toward the movement of the person seated next to us (an external distractor). Alternatively, attention can shift internally, towards random thoughts (an internal distractor). Both types of attention lapses will negatively affect encoding of the lecture, but may do so in different ways. In Chapter 4, I describe a simultaneous pupillometry-fMRI study that investigated the fluctuations of sustained attention with the presence of both external and internal distractors as well as the impact on subsequent memory. Finally, we must consider the role that cognitive control plays in modulating interactions between attention and memory. In Chapter 5, I describe a behavioral study that investigated the cognitive control processes triggered in response to an error and their impact on subsequent memory. Taken together, these 4 studies provide a more nuanced look at the mechanisms by which attention memory interact as we process information in different ways.