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Role of Attention in the Temporal Dynamics of Post-Iconic Visual Memory Stores

Authors:
Jane Jacob at Louisiana Tech University
Jane Jacob
Christianne Jacobs
Christianne Jacobs
Christianne Jacobs
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Bruno Breitmeyer at University of Houston
Bruno Breitmeyer
Juha Silvanto at University of Surrey
Juha Silvanto
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Abstract

We compared scanning of working memory for simple geometric shapes in cued (location, neutral) and non-cued (control) conditions to investigate the role of attention in the time course of visual working memory. A memory array of 4 items preceded a probe item at varying inter-stimulus intervals (ISIs), ranging from 520 to 5000ms, in the control condition, and in the cued conditions the array preceded a cue at varying ISIs, followed by the probe after 300ms. The location cue pointed to one of the 4 array items, either matching or mismatching the probe. The neutral cue pointed toward all four locations of the memory array. Observers reported whether the probe matched or mismatched the memory array. Response reaction times were collected, and comparison effects (CE) were computed by subtracting average reactions times for matched from mismatched memory array-probe pairings. Similar to previous findings (Jacob, Breitmeyer & Treviño, 2013), CEs in the control condition varied systematically across ISIs, likely reflecting fluctuations in attention and working memory content. The CEs in the location-cued condition followed the same temporal pattern as the control condition, but with dampened fluctuations, terminated by 4000ms. As expected, the location cue utilizes spatial attention to compare the cued item and the probe, reducing memory load. This is likely to reflect spatial attention overriding the effects of attention to WM content. In contrast, the CEs in the neutral-cued condition showed CE fluctuations with higher amplitude for later ISIs. The neutral cue enhances processing of the content of working memory, amplifying CEs as ISIs increase. Our results suggest that attention plays a role in in determining stages of information processing in working memory.
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Content uploaded by Jane Jacob
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All content in this area was uploaded by Jane Jacob on Dec 12, 2016
Content may be subject to copyright.
Jane Jacob1, Christianne Jacobs1, Bruno G. Breitmeyer1, 2 & Juha Silvanto1
1. Visual Cognition Lab, Department of Psychology, University of Westminster, UK
2. Department of Psychology & Center for Neuro-Engineering and Cognitive Science, University of Houston, USA
Background
Procedure
A memory scanning experiment was conducted with three conditions:
control, neutral cue and location cue.
Results and Discussion
Traditionally visual short-term memories (VSTMs) are divided into:
•Visual iconic memory - lasts about 500 ms (Averbach & Coriell, 1961; Becker, Pashler & Anstis,
2000; Di Lollo, 1977; Sperling, 1960)
•Visual working memory - estimated to last from one to several seconds (O’Herron &
von der Heydt, 2009; Sligte, Scholte & Lamme, 2009; Zhang & Luck, 2009)
Comparison tasks show evidence of three (Jacob, Breitmeyer & Treviño, 2013) or four (Jacob,
Breitmeyer & Treviño, 2014) stages of visual memory.
References
Averbach, E., & Coriell, A.S. (1961). Short-term memory in vision. Bell System Technical Journal, 40, 309-328.
Becker, M.W., Pashier, H., & Anstis, S.M. (2000). The role of iconic memory in change-detection tasks. Perception, 29, 273-286.
Di Lollo, V. (1977). Temporal characteristics of iconic memory. Nature, 267, 241-243.
Jacob, J., Breitmeyer, B. G., & Treviño, M. (2013). Tracking the first two seconds: three stages of visual information processing?. Psychonomic bulletin & review, 20(6), 1114-1119.
Jacob, J. & Breitmeyer, B. G. (2014). The First Four Seconds: An Assessment of Post-Stimulus Processing in Visual Short-Term Memories. Poster presented at the annual Vision Sciences Society (VSS)
meeting. Naples, FL, May 10-15.
O’Herron, P., & von der Heydt, R. (2009). Short-term memory for figure-ground organization in the visual cortex. Neuron, 61, 801-809.
Sligte, I.G., Scholte, H.S., & Lamme, V.A.F. (2009).V4 activity predicts the strength of visual short-term memory representations. The Journal of Neuroscience, 29: 3, 7432-7438.
Sperling, G. (1960). The information available in brief visual presentations. Psychological Monographs, 74, 1–29.
Zhang, W., & Luck, S.J. (2009). Sudden death and gradual decay in visual working memory. Psychological Science, 20:4, 423-428.
300
350
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450
RT (ms)
ΔRT
Figure 4 Figure 3 Figure 5
Figure 2
Figure 1
Reaction times (RTs) to the probe were
measured in each task. Comparison effects
were computed as the difference between RTs
(ΔRTs ) to probe when it matched or did not
match one of the items in VWM or the display.
i.e. ΔRT = RTmismatch - RTmatch
Comparison Effects Results:
A 3 (Condition: control, neutral-cue, location-cue) x 10(ISI) repeated-measures ANOVA was performed on ΔRTs
(difference between RTs for congruent and incongruent memory display and probe pairing).
•Main effects of condition [F(2,22)= 7.949, p=0.003]
•Main effect of SOA [F(9,99)= 3.360, p=0.001]
•Condition x SOA interaction, quadratic trend [F(1,11)= 9.011, p=0. 012] (see Figures 3, 4 and 5)
Similar to previous findings (Jacob, Breitmeyer & Treviño, 2013), comparison effects (CEs) in the control
condition fluctuated across ISIs.
Compared to CEs in the control condition, the CEs in the location-cued condition had lower amplitude in its
fluctuations, and the CEs diminished by 4000 ms. As expected, the location cue leads the observer to utilize
spatial attention to make a judgement between the cued item and the probe, reducing the amount of
information that needs to be maintained in memory.
In contrast, the CEs in the neutral-cued condition showed CE fluctuations with higher amplitude for later
SOAs. When the neutral cue appears, there is an amplification of CEs (see Figure 6), particularly as ISIs increase.
The neutral cue may result in enhanced processing of the content of working memory.
Taken together, our results suggest that fluctuations in cognitive processing is present as information is
processed and maintained over time, and attention plays a role in the amplitude of these fluctuations. Figure 6
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ResearchGate has not been able to resolve any citations for this publication.
Tracking the first two seconds: Three stages of visual information processing?
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Full-text available
  • Jul 2013
  • PSYCHON B REV
We compared visual priming and comparison tasks to assess information processing of a stimulus during the first 2 s after its onset. In both tasks, a 13-ms prime was followed at varying SOAs by a 40-ms probe. In the priming task, observers identified the probe as rapidly and accurately as possible; in the comparison task, observers determined as rapidly and accurately as possible whether or not the probe and prime were identical. Priming effects attained a maximum at an SOA of 133 ms and then declined monotonically to zero by 700 ms, indicating reliance on relatively brief visuosensory (iconic) memory. In contrast, the comparison effects yielded a multiphasic function, showing a maximum at 0 ms followed by a minimum at 133 ms, followed in turn by a maximum at 240 ms and another minimum at 720 ms, and finally a third maximum at 1,200 ms before declining thereafter. The results indicate three stages of prime processing that we take to correspond to iconic visible persistence, iconic informational persistence, and visual working memory, with the first two used in the priming task and all three in the comparison task. These stages are related to stages presumed to underlie stimulus processing in other tasks, such as those giving rise to the attentional blink.
View
The Information Available in Brief Visual Presentations
Article
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  • Jan 1960
  • Psychol Monogr
Thesis (Ph. D.)--Harvard University, 1959. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 95-101). Microfilm.
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V4 Activity Predicts the Strength of Visual Short-Term Memory Representations
Article
Full-text available
  • Jul 2009
  • J NEUROSCI
Recent studies have shown the existence of a form of visual memory that lies intermediate of iconic memory and visual short-term memory (VSTM), in terms of both capacity (up to 15 items) and the duration of the memory trace (up to 4 s). Because new visual objects readily overwrite this intermediate visual store, we believe that it reflects a weak form of VSTM with high capacity that exists alongside a strong but capacity-limited form of VSTM. In the present study, we isolated brain activity related to weak and strong VSTM representations using functional magnetic resonance imaging. We found that activity in visual cortical area V4 predicted the strength of VSTM representations; activity was low when there was no VSTM, medium when there was a weak VSTM representation regardless of whether this weak representation was available for report or not, and high when there was a strong VSTM representation. Altogether, this study suggests that the high capacity yet weak VSTM store is represented in visual parts of the brain. Allegedly, only some of these VSTM traces are amplified by parietal and frontal regions and as a consequence reside in traditional or strong VSTM. The additional weak VSTM representations remain available for conscious access and report when attention is redirected to them yet are overwritten as soon as new visual stimuli hit the eyes.
View
Temporal characteristics of iconic memory
Article
Full-text available
  • Jun 1977
THE duration of visual persistence (iconic memory) is inversely related, up to a point, to the duration of the inducing stimulus. This suggests that iconic memory can more properly be identified with ongoing neural processes than with the decaying contents of a sensory store. Since the publication of Sperling's influential monograph1 there has been general agreement that a relatively faithful representation of a visual display remains perceptually available for several hundred milliseconds after the distal stimulus has vanished. This led to the postulation of a short-term visual store, also called iconic memory2 or sensory register3, with contents decaying rapidly after the termination of the inducing display. The terms visual persistence or icon are commonly used to refer to the perceptual availability of the decaying contents of the sensory store. Iconic memory is regarded as having temporal combinatorial properties which allow perceptual integration of two or more sequential displays even if separated by a brief temporal gap. Integration in iconic memory was convincingly demonstrated in a study where the subjects were required to identify which element in a briefly-displayed array of 16 alphabet characters had been singled out by a temporally trailing bar marker4. Temporal integration has also provided an explanation for some aspects of visual masking5 and for temporal integration of patterns whose parts were presented sequentially in time6,7. Here I question the view that iconic memory is a store whose contents begin to decay when the inducing stimulus is terminated. I suggest that the duration of iconic persistence is linked to the duration of visual processes which begin at the onset of stimulation and continue for a given duration, whether or not the inducing stimulus is still on display. This view is based on the finding that the duration of visual persistence is negatively related to the duration of the inducing stimulus.
View
The first four seconds: an assessment of post-stimulus processing in visual short-term memories
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  • Aug 2014
  • J VISION
Priming and comparison tasks were used to assess the time course of iconic and post-iconic processing in visual short-term memory (VSTM) for form and/or color features. A prime preceded a probe at varying stimulus onset asynchronies (SOAs); observers reported the probe's form or color feature in the priming task, and whether or not the probe matched the prime in the comparison task. Three SOA ranges were used: short (0-1920 ms); long (0-4160 ms), and another long (253-3950 ms). Using the short range, Jacob, Breitmeyer & Treviño (2013) obtained evidence for three stages of VSTM processing: iconic visible persistence (0-130 ms), informational persistence (130-700 ms), and visual working memory (700-2000 ms). In the present study, both the 0-1920 ms and 0-4160 ms ranges yielded priming effects that rapidly declined after peaking at 40ms and 133ms, respectively; no significant effects occurred beyond a 700-ms SOA. In contrast, priming effects in the 253-3950 ms range lasted twice as long, ending at the 1500-ms SOA, suggesting that participants may be strategically retaining prime information for longer intervals in the sensorimotor system when SOAs are sampled at long SOA ranges excluding the lowest SOAs. Additionally, comparison effects in both long-range SOAs yielded evidence for a fourth VSTM stage. Our results indicate that information is processed differently at different post-stimulus intervals due to variations 1) of the processing stages in VSTM and (2) of cognitive strategies induced by variations of the SOA range at which VSTM processing is assessed. Meeting abstract presented at VSS 2014
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Figure-ground organization in the visual cortex
Article
  • Dec 2010
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Many phenomena of visual perception can be understood as the result of processing strategies centered around the problem of a 3D interpretation of 2D images. I will discuss recent results showing that figure-ground organization takes place at low levels in the visual cortex. The basic finding is that many neurons in V2 respond with different strengths to the same contrast border, depending on the side of the figure to which the border belongs, implying processing of the whole figure. Side-of-figure information is often combined with selectivity for stereoscopic edges and/or selectivity for borders defined by motion. In this case, the preferred figure side is generally the same as the ‘near’ side of the preferred 3D edge (as given by stereo or motion cues). This means that the cortex ‘interprets’ contrast borders as occluding contours as if the figure were an object in 3D space. Further experiments showed that the neural figure-ground signal for a given contrast edge covaries with perceptual border assignment in displays in which the context suggests occlusion or transparent overlay. Various observations point to low-level mechanisms: side-of-figure signals emerge with short latency and without involvement of attention; neurons are often selective for some border ownership cues, but not others, as if different specific mechanisms are being combined in stages. These results suggest that figure-ground organization is one of the main functions of area V2.
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Short-Term Memory in Vision
Article
  • Jan 1961
Experiments were performed with 3 Ss that demonstrate some of the functional properties of short-term shortage in the visual system, its decay, readout, and erasure. Results indicate that the visual process involves a buffer shortage which includes an erasure mechanism that is local in character and tends to erase stored information when new information is put in. Storage time appears to be of the order of ¼ second; storage capacity is more difficult to assess. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
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Sudden Death and Gradual Decay in Visual Working Memory
Article
  • Apr 2009
  • PSYCHOL SCI
General Douglas MacArthur remarked that "old soldiers never die; they just fade away." For decades, researchers have concluded that visual working memories, like old soldiers, fade away gradually, becoming progressively less precise as they are retained for longer periods of time. However, these conclusions were based on threshold-estimation procedures in which the complete termination of a memory could artifactually produce the appearance of lower precision. Here, we use a recall-based visual working memory paradigm that provides separate measures of the probability that a memory is available and the precision of the memory when it is available. Using this paradigm, we demonstrate that visual working memory representations may be retained for several seconds with little or no loss of precision, but that they may terminate suddenly and completely during this period.
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The Role of Iconic Memory in Change-Detection Tasks
Article
  • Feb 2000
In three experiments, subjects attempted to detect the change of a single item in a visually presented array of items. Subjects' ability to detect a change was greatly reduced if a blank interstimulus interval (ISI) was inserted between the original array and an array in which one item had changed ('change blindness'). However, change detection improved when the location of the change was cued during the blank ISI. This suggests that people represent more information of a scene than change blindness might suggest. We test two possible hypotheses why, in the absence of a cue, this representation fails to produce good change detection. The first claims that the intervening events employed to create change blindness result in multiple neural transients which co-occur with the to-be-detected change. Poor detection rates occur because a serial search of all the transient locations is required to detect the change, during which time the representation of the original scene fades. The second claims that the occurrence of the second frame overwrites the representation of the first frame, unless that information is insulated against overwriting by attention. The results support the second hypothesis. We conclude that people may have a fairly rich visual representation of a scene while the scene is present, but fail to detect changes because they lack the ability to simultaneously represent two complete visual representations.
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