Causal Investigation of Visual Working Memory Prioritisation in Early Visual Cortex: A combined TMS-EEG study

The project investigates the effects of early visual cortex (EVC; e.g., V1/V2) transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) on prioritized versus unprioritized items during visual working memory (VWM) storage. Earlier work has demonstrated that TMS interference of prioritized VWM states disrupts performance, whereas TMS during unprioritized states facilitates performance. This project combines TMS with electroencephalography (EEG), to explore the behavioral and neurophysiological effects of EVC TMS when items remain prioritized or require a prioritization switch during VWM maintenance. Comparisons are made between ipsilateral and contralateral TMS-to-visual hemifield, as well as between active and sham TMS. We anticipate that contralateral EVC TMS will facilitate VWM performance during prioritization switching but will disrupt VWM performance when prioritization remains consistent, as compared to ipsilateral EVC TMS and as compared to sham EVC TMS. EEG decoding will also be computed to explore the neurophysiological effects of EVC TMS during different prioritization states.