The study investigates the role of working memory in visual selective attention. Participants performed a selective attention task while holding a sequence of digits in working memory, with either low or high memory load. Higher memory load, associated with increased prefrontal activity, led to greater interference from distractor faces and increased face-related activity in the visual cortex. This confirms that working memory is crucial for maintaining the prioritization of relevant information and reducing distraction. The findings suggest that high working memory load increases the processing of visual distractors, contrary to the typical effect of perceptual load. Functional MRI results further support these findings, showing increased activity in regions such as the fusiform gyrus and extrastriate visual cortex under high working memory load. These results provide evidence for the interaction between working memory and selective attention, highlighting the importance of working memory in controlling visual attention.The study investigates the role of working memory in visual selective attention. Participants performed a selective attention task while holding a sequence of digits in working memory, with either low or high memory load. Higher memory load, associated with increased prefrontal activity, led to greater interference from distractor faces and increased face-related activity in the visual cortex. This confirms that working memory is crucial for maintaining the prioritization of relevant information and reducing distraction. The findings suggest that high working memory load increases the processing of visual distractors, contrary to the typical effect of perceptual load. Functional MRI results further support these findings, showing increased activity in regions such as the fusiform gyrus and extrastriate visual cortex under high working memory load. These results provide evidence for the interaction between working memory and selective attention, highlighting the importance of working memory in controlling visual attention.