Increasing number of objects impairs binding in visual working memory

The number of objects that can be maintained in visual working memory without interference is limited. We present simulations of a model of visual working memory in ventral prefrontal cortex that has this constraint as well. One layer in ventral PFC represents all objects in memory. These representations are used to bind the features of the objects. If there are too many objects, their representations interfere and therefore the quality of the representations degrades. Consequently, it becomes harder to bind the shape to location for an object that is maintained. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.