ABSTRACT
A central challenge in goal-directed behavior is to make efficient use of the limited storage capacity of working memory. This challenge is met by a series of cognitive processes that serve to increase the effective capacity of working memory by offloading information to the environment and to long-term memory when possible. There are also prioritization processes that operate in working memory to ensure that, from moment to moment, only task-relevant information guides behavior and task-irrelevant information does not. In this chapter, we describe the behavioral consequences and neural underpinnings of these cognitive processes.
