Visual verbal working memory processing may be interfered by previously seen faces

• Published in: International journal of psychophysiology Vol. 65; no. 2; pp. 141 - 151
• Main Authors: Gonzalez-Garrido, Andres A., Ramos-Loyo, Julieta, Gomez-Velazquez, Fabiola R., Alarcón, Marina Alvelais, Moises de la Serna Tuya, Juan
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Shannon Elsevier B.V 01.08.2007; Elsevier Science
• Subjects: Adult; Analysis of Variance; Behavioral psychophysiology; Biological and medical sciences; Brain Mapping; Contingent Negative Variation - physiology; Dual task; Emotions - physiology; ERP; Face; Face recognition; Facial emotional expression; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Humans; Male; Memory, Short-Term - physiology; Pattern Recognition, Visual - physiology; Photic Stimulation - methods; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychology. Psychophysiology; Reaction Time - physiology; Working memory; Facial emotional expression; ERP; Working memory; Face recognition; Dual task; Affect affectivity; Visual memory; Electrophysiology; Cognition; Emotion emotionality; Verbal memory; Concurrent task; Face; Event evoked potential; Facial expression; Recognition
• ISSN: 0167-8760; 1872-7697
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2007.04.005

Processing and maintenance in working memory involve active attention allocation; consequently, it is possible that a recognition process could interfere with the performance of highly demanding working memory tasks. Event-related brain potentials (ERPs) were recorded while fourteen healthy male adults performed a visual verbal dual working memory task. Three conditions were examined: A) reference (with no preceding stimuli); B) happy, angry or neutral faces presented 250 ms prior to task onset for 30 ms; and, C) visual noise control condition. Behavioral results showed that reaction times were significantly longer in the condition preceded by the presentation of faces, regardless of their emotional content. ERPs showed a predominantly right temporo-occipital negative component at around 170 ms during conditions B and C (higher amplitude in B), which probably reflects the pre-categorical structural encoding of the face. Succeeding task-onset, an early positive right temporo-parietal component (P380) appeared during condition B, probably reflecting a delayed reallocation of working memory attentional resources to carry out the task requirements. Afterwards, two other main fronto-parietal components were observed in the three conditions: a positive wave that peaked at around 410 ms, and a subsequent negative component (N585). This latter waveform reached a significantly higher amplitude during the reference condition (A) and was interpreted as mirroring the phonologic-lexical manipulation of the stimuli in working memory. These results suggest that early face detection could induce an attentional decrement that interfere a subsequent visual verbal working memory task performance. They also suggest that while face detection and facial emotional content analysis might be parallel processes, they are not onset-synchronized.