Common and distinct neural regions for the guidance of selection by visuoverbal information held in memory: converging evidence from fMRI and rTMS

Recent research indicates that working memory (WM) and attention interact, with attention automatically biased to stimuli that match the contents of WM. Though there is behavioral evidence for verbal guidance (written words) as well as guidance by more visual cues in WM, we have limited understanding of how these two representational formats influence the guidance of visual selection at a neural level. Here, we present converging evidence from functional MRI and transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), which indicates that both common and distinct neural regions mediate the influence of visuoverbal representations on WM. Colored shapes, but not words, in WM activated the superior frontal gyrus (SFG) and recognition memory areas in the temporal lobe when the contents of WM matched a stimulus in a subsequent search display. rTMS to the SFG disrupted WM effects from colored shapes. The lateral occipital cortex, however, tended to be more activated with written word cues, and rTMS to the lateral occipital complex tended to disrupt effects from written words more than from colored shapes in WM. There was also evidence for cue validity effects from colored shapes and written stimuli operating through different subthalamic nuclei. We discuss the evidence for understanding the neural systems mediating attention effects from WM.