Topic: distractor odors

Working memory (WM) is a cognitive function that allows for the short-term maintenance and manipulation of information when no longer accessible to the senses. It relies on temporarily storing stimulus features in the neuronal activity. However, the mechanisms protecting WM from task-irrelevant influences are unknown. Recent studies involving WM tasks have suggested that neural activity before and after distractors can be decomposed into two orthogonal subspaces, one invariant across distraction, thus protecting WM from interferences. However, whether orthogonalization is a general mechanism f