Research Alert: Looking into working memory through micro eye movements—“mind leaks” via the eyes

Quick email-based FYI research alert.

Click on image to enlarge for easy viewing.

 

Interesting article on how the study of small eye movements during activity working memory task performance can shed light on possible mental processes…..I like the concept of “mind leaks” via eye movements.  Good news….this is an open access article available at link below👍

 

Looking into working memory through micro eye movements: Trends in Cognitive Sciences 
https://www.cell.com/trends/cognitive-sciences/fulltext/S1364-6613(26)00128-2

Pardon typos and spelling errors-Message may be sent from iPhone and I've always had spelling problems :)

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Kevin S. McGrew, PhD
Educational & School Psychologist
Director
Institute for Applied Psychometrics (IAP)
https://www.themindhub.com
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Research Alert: #Attentioncontrol ability is associated with #frontoparietal control #network interactions | PNAS - #AC #PFIT #CHC #schoolpsychologists #schoolpsychology #cognition #intelligence

Quick email-based FYI post.  Sorry—not open access article.😕  There is considerable research literature that suggests attentional control (AC as per CHC taxonomy) is a fundamental underlying cognitive mechanism of intelligence.  Click here for prior posts at IQs Corner re AC.

 

 

Attention control ability is associated with frontoparietal control network interactions | PNAS 
https://www.pnas.org/doi/abs/10.1073/pnas.2526828123

 

Significance

Attention control is fundamental to human cognition, and people differ in this trait to maintain focus. These individual differences shape success in school, work, and health, but their neural basis remains unclear. Our study shows that attention control is reflected in the brain’s dynamic interaction. Individuals higher in attention control demonstrated more coordination between the frontoparietal control network with other attention networks, as well as the locus coeruleus, a major neuromodulatory hub. Remarkably, these signatures are present even in the absence of cognitive load. These findings demonstrate that attention control is not just momentary fluctuations, but a stable trait embedded in large-scale brain dynamics, providing a framework for understanding the neural organization of individual differences.

Abstract

Attention control predicts academic achievement, professional success, and health outcomes. However, the neural basis of stable, individual differences in attention control remains unclear. Prior research has emphasized momentary fluctuations in attentional engagement, often overlooking enduring individual differences. Here, we applied the quasi-periodic pattern analysis of infraslow functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) dynamics in a large sample (N = 196) to test whether trait attention control is reflected in network-level brain activity as well as the locus coeruleus (LC). Using latent-variable measures of attention control, working memory capacity, and fluid intelligence, we isolated the unique contribution of attention control across rest, 1-back, and 3-back conditions. As cognitive demand increased, individuals with higher attention control exhibited more coordinated activity of the frontoparietal control network (FPCN): they showed enhanced coupling with the dorsal attention network (DAN), and greater engagement with the LC and stronger decoupling from the default mode network (DMN). Even at rest, high attention individuals demonstrated stronger FPCN–DAN coupling and little to no correlation between FPCN–DMN, indicating that attentional capacity is reflected in both task-evoked reconfiguration and baseline network architecture. These findings reveal how attention control, as an ability, is instantiated in the brain’s dynamic architecture.

 

 

Research alert: Executive functions and psychopathology: A transdiagnostic network analysis - #networkanalysis #executivefunctions #Gwm #AC #workingmemory #attentionalcontrol #psychopathology #schoolpsychologists #schoolpsychology #AC-Gwmcomplex

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Following up on my post the other day that suggests that the AC-Gwm (attentional control-working memory) complex is key to cognitive functioning, a new article implicating the same complex in preadolescent psychopathology.  It is becoming more clear that the AC-Gwm complex is central key for understanding a variety of human behaviors.  

Open access article available here.

Abstract

Mental health research is shifting toward dimensional, transdiagnostic frameworks, yet the role of executive functions (EFs) across psychopathological domains remains unclear. In this study, we examined transdiagnostic associations and potential directional pathways linking EFs with psychopathology in a large sample of preado-lescents (N = 9,119) from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study. We employed a Gaussian graphical model (GGM) to estimate partial correlations and a directed acyclic graph (DAG) to infer potential directional influences between EFs and psychopathology. Modest associations were observed among the EFs and psy-chopathology. Working memory emerged as a central node, showing positive asso-ciations with attention problems, social problems, and rule-breaking behavior, and negative associations with anxious/depressed and somatic complaints. These results were mirrored in the DAG, which identified working memory and attention problems as key converging hubs. Sex-stratified analyses revealed notable differences in net-work structure. Our findings reveal a core transdiagnostic role for working memory in preadolescent psychopathology.

Research alert-very important article: Beyond Working Memory Capacity: Attention Control as the Underlying Mechanism of Cognitive Abilities - #cognitive #intelligence #Gwm #attentionalcontrol #AC #workingmemory #WJIV #WJV #schoolpsychology #schoolpsychologists #cognition

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Very important article (open source..click here to read/download) regarding cognitive functioning and working memory capacity and attentional control. For at least 15 years I’ve been monitoring research on the attentional-control working memory complex system (AC-Gwm)…(click here for numerous posts regarding the important of AC-Gwm).  I’m convinced that the AC-Gwm complex system is one of the core cognitive efficiency systems that helps us understand general intellectual functioning.  It has been found to be important in cognitive functioning and also in various forms of psychopathology.  

Abstract

Working memory capacity (WMC) has long served as a central indicator of individual differences in complex cognition. However, growing evidence suggests that a substantial portion of its predictive power may reflect attention control (AC)—including goal maintenance, interference management, and inhibition—rather than storage capacity alone. This review synthesizes findings across six domains: (1) perception and sensory discrimination, (2) learning and problem solving, (3) cognitive control and decision making, (4) retrieval and memory performance, (5) multitasking and real-world performance, and (6) clinical applications. Across these areas, WMC-related effects frequently align with demands on AC, though the strength and nature of this alignment vary by domain. We highlight the importance of incorporating reliable AC measures and recommend latent-variable approaches to more clearly separate storage, control, and representational processes underlying complex performance.

Keywords: attention control; working memory capacity; executive attention; fluid intelligence; interference control; individual differences; latent-variable modeling; cognitive measurement

From conclusions:

Across six domains, the evidence reviewed here suggests that the broad predictive power traditionally associated with WMC often reflects the AC operations embedded within complex-span tasks—particularly goal maintenance, interference suppression, and disengagement. This does not diminish the importance of WMC as a measurable construct; rather, it clarifies that many WMC tasks draw on AC mechanisms, which are more directly tied to performance in interference-heavy contexts.

McGrew et al. (2023) identified a similar AC-Gwm complex system in a recent WJ V psychometric network analysis study.  See the relevant research and comments  from that article below (click here to access and download the paper).  Again, a reminder—click on image to enlarge for easy reading.