Is verbal-spatial binding in working memory impaired by a concurrent memory load?

Binding processes play a critical role in memory. We investigated whether the binding of (visually presented) verbal and spatial (locations) information involves general attentional resources, as stipulated in the revised working memory model, by comparing measures of binding in the presence and absence of a concurrent memory load. Using an adaptation of a probe recognition task contrasting performance between intact and recombined conditions, we found that the concurrent retention of a sequence of three pure tones eliminated verbal-spatial binding. The present study constitutes the first to directly measure the impact of a concurrent memory load on verbal-spatial binding and suggests that such binding may indeed recruit attentional resources, consistent with some recent findings in the visual-spatial binding literature.