title: Distinct neural markers of TVA-based visual processing speed and short-term storage capacity parameters.
abstract: An individual's visual attentional capacity is characterized by 2 central processing resources, visual perceptual processing speed and visual short-term memory (vSTM) storage capacity. Based on Bundesen's theory of visual attention (TVA), independent estimates of these parameters can be obtained from mathematical modeling of performance in a whole report task. The framework's neural interpretation (NTVA) further suggests distinct brain mechanisms underlying these 2 functions. Using an interindividual difference approach, the present study was designed to establish the respective ERP correlates of both parameters. Participants with higher compared to participants with lower processing speed were found to show significantly reduced visual N1 responses, indicative of higher efficiency in early visual processing. By contrast, for participants with higher relative to lower vSTM storage capacity, contralateral delay activity over visual areas was enhanced while overall nonlateralized delay activity was reduced, indicating that holding (the maximum number of) items in vSTM relies on topographically specific sustained activation within the visual system. Taken together, our findings show that the 2 main aspects of visual attentional capacity are reflected in separable neurophysiological markers, validating a central assumption of NTVA.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Munich 80802, Germany Graduate School of Systemic Neurosciences, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Planegg-Martinsried 82152, Germany iris.wiegand@psy.lmu.de.
authors.forename: Iris
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Wiegand
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Munich 80802, Germany.
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Töllner
authors.affiliation: Center for Visual Cognition, Department of Psychology, University of Copenhagen, DK-1353 CopenhagenK, Denmark.
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Habekost
authors.affiliation: Center for Visual Cognition, Department of Psychology, University of Copenhagen, DK-1353 CopenhagenK, Denmark.
authors.forename: Mads
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dyrholm
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Munich 80802, Germany Department of Psychology, Birkbeck College, London WC1E 7HX, UK.
authors.forename: Hermann J
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Müller
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Munich 80802, Germany Neuro-Cognitive Psychology und Center for Interdisciplinary Research, University Bielefeld, 33615 Bielefeld, Germany.
authors.forename: Kathrin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Finke
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001288:Attention / Q000502:physiology*; D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology*; D004569:Electroencephalography; D005071:Evoked Potentials; D005260:Female; D007839:Functional Laterality; D006801:Humans; D007206:Individuality; D008297:Male; D008570:Memory, Short-Term / Q000502:physiology*; D008959:Models, Neurological; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D014796:Visual Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: cognitive efficiency; contralateral delay activity; individual differences; theory of visual attention; visual N1