Document Type
Honors Project
Publication Date
6-13-2025
Abstract
Successful goal-directed behavior requires balancing task-relevant information stored in working memory and the continuous processing of incoming sensory input, yet the neural mechanisms underlying this coordination remain unclear. This study examines how neural oscillations support concurrent visual perception and visual working memory. Using electroencephalography (EEG), we recorded brain activity while participants performed a dual task paradigm requiring them to simultaneously maintain one orientation in their memory while monitoring another orientation on the screen. After variable time intervals (50 different SOAs between 500-1500ms), participants compared a probe against either the memorized or visually monitored orientation. Analysis of response times and accuracy revealed notable fluctuations. Fast Fourier transform identified increased spectral power in theta and low-alpha frequencies for both task types. Importantly, these representations fluctuated at different phase angles, indicating rhythmic alternation in attentional sampling between external and internal visual representations. Using Inverted Encoding Models (IEMs) on EEG data, we successfully reconstructed both working memory and perceptual representations during periods of concurrent task relevance. These findings demonstrate the rhythmic nature of attentional shifts between internal and external visual representations and highlight how neural oscillations help segregate visual representations from different sources.
Level of Honors
summa cum laude
Department
Neuroscience
Advisor
Chunyue Teng
Recommended Citation
Santiago, Khayla, "Neural Oscillations Enable Concurrent Visual Perception and Visual Working Memory Processing" (2025). Lawrence University Honors Projects. 209.
https://lux.lawrence.edu/luhp/209