Mechanisms of Working Memory Disruption by External Interference
Open accessAbstract
The negative impact of external interference on working memory (WM) performance is well documented; yet, the mechanisms underlying this disruption are not sufficiently understood. In this study, electroencephalogram and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data were recorded in separate experiments that each introduced different types of visual interference during a period of WM maintenance: distraction (irrelevant stimuli) and interruption (stimuli that required attention). The data converged to reveal that regardless of the type of interference, the magnitude of processing interfering stimuli in the visual cortex (as rapidly as 100 ms) predicted subsequent WM recognition accuracy for stored items. fMRI connectivity analyses suggested that in the presence of distraction, encoded items were maintained throughout the delay period via connectivity between the middle frontal gyrus and visual association cortex, whereas memoranda were not maintained when subjects were interrupted but rather reactivated in the postinterruption period. These results elucidate the mechanisms of external interference on WM performance and highlight similarities and differences of distraction and multitasking.
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The cognitive interference effect impairs the ability to voluntarily inhibit high-priority yet task-irrelevant habits such as checking a smartphone.
“It has been proposed that this “cognitive interference effect” impairs the ability to voluntarily inhibit high-priority yet task-irrelevant habits such as checking a smartphone19,21,23.”
From Emotion-related impulsivity moderates the cognitive interference effect of smartphone availability on working memory (2019) · cites this paper as [19]
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- Authors
- Clapp, W. C., Rubens, M. T., & Gazzaley, A.
- Affiliations
- University of California, San Francisco (US)
- ORCID
- Gazzaley, A.
- Venue
- Cerebral Cortex
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press (OUP)
- Published
- 2009-07-31
- Volume
- 20
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 859-872
- ISSN
- 1047-3211 (ISSN-L)
- 1460-2199
- PMC
- PMC2837090
- OpenAlex
- W2151326602
- Cited by
- 195
- References
- 47
- Citations by year
- 2026: 14 · 2025: 6 · 2024: 8 · 2023: 11 · 2022: 19 · 2021: 15 · 2020: 13 · 2019: 14 · 2018: 8 · 2017: 12 · 2016: 15 · 2015: 13 · 2014: 9 · 2013: 7 · 2012: 8
- FWCI
- 5.02
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Locations
- Cerebral Cortex (publishedVersion)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institute on Aging (K08AG025221, R01AG030395)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Cognitive Abilities and Testing
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neurobiology of Language and Bilingualism
- Keywords
- working memory, external interference, distraction, interruptions, visual interference, visual cortex, memory maintenance, middle frontal gyrus, visual association cortex, neuronal connectivity, memory reactivation, multitasking
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Adult, Attention, Brain Mapping, Cerebral Cortex, Cues, Electroencephalography, Evoked Potentials, Face, Female, Humans, Image Processing, Computer-Assisted, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Male, Memory Disorders, Memory, Short-Term, Neuropsychological Tests, Oxygen, Photic Stimulation, Reaction Time, Young Adult
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