Guest Lecture of Ed Awh

Guest Lecture of Ed Awh

from the University of Oregon, Eugene

Date: 13 June 2012

Topic: The individuation thread: discrete resource limits constrain memory, attention and perception

Abstract:
Previous work has demonstrated sharp limits in our ability to select external stimuli as well as in the internal storage of items in working memory. I will present neural and behavioral evidence suggesting that both of these processes are constrained by a discrete resource limit that allows a handful of items to be processed, while no information is available for additional items. Our working hypothesis is that external selection and internal storage may be limited by the observer's ability to create and maintain individuated representations of multiple stimuli. This hypothesis is supported by data from a broad range of experimental paradigms that assess individual differences in covert orienting, rapid enumeration, visual search and storage in visual working memory.