A finite set of content-free pointers in visual working memory: MEG evidence

Human visual working memory (VWM) is known to be capacity-limited, but the nature of this limit continues to be debated. Recent work has proposed that VWM is supported by a finite (∼ 3) set of content-free pointers, acting as stand-ins for individual objects and binding features together. Here, based on two visual working memory experiments (N=20 each) examining memory for simple and complex objects, we report a sustained MEG response over right posterior cortex whose magnitude tracks the core hypothesized properties of this system: load-dependent, capacity-limited and content-free. These results provide novel evidence for a finite set of content-free pointers underlying VWM.