Working memory enables us to retain past sensations in service of anticipated task demands. How we prepare for anticipated task demands during working memory retention remains poorly understood. Here, we focused on the role of time—asking how temporal expectations help prepare for ensuing memory-guided behavior. We manipulated the expected probe time in a delayed change-detection task and report that temporal expectation can have a profound influence on memory-guided behavioral performance. EEG measurements corroborated the utilization of temporal expectations: demonstrating the involvement of a classic EEG signature of temporal expectation—the contingent negative variation—in the context of working memory. We also report the influence of temporal expectations on 2 EEG signatures associated with visual working memory—the lateralization of 8- to 12-Hz alpha activity, and the contralateral delay activity. We observed a dissociation between these signatures, whereby alpha lateralization (but not the contralateral delay activity) adapted to the time of expected memory utilization. These data show how temporal expectations prepare visual working memory for behavior and shed new light on the electrophysiological markers of both temporal expectation and working memory.

工作记忆使我们能够保留过去的感觉，以满足预期的任务需求。我们如何在工作记忆保留期间为预期的任务需求做准备仍然知之甚少。在这里，我们专注于时间的作用——询问时间期望如何帮助为随后的记忆引导行为做好准备。我们在延迟变化检测任务中操纵了预期的探测时间，并报告说时间预期会对记忆引导的行为表现产生深远的影响。EEG 测量证实了时间期望的利用：展示了时间期望的经典 EEG 特征——偶然的负面变化——在工作记忆的背景下的参与。我们还报告了时间预期对与视觉工作记忆相关的 2 个 EEG 特征的影响——8 到 12Hz α 活动的侧化，以及对侧延迟活动。我们观察到这些特征之间的分离，由此 alpha 侧化（但不是对侧延迟活动）适应了预期的记忆利用时间。这些数据显示了时间预期如何为行为准备视觉工作记忆，并为时间预期和工作记忆的电生理标记提供了新的线索。