Understanding the function of visual short-term memory: transsaccadic memory, object correspondence, and gaze correction

Andrew Hollingworth; Ashleigh M Richard; Steven J Luck

doi:10.1037/0096-3445.137.1.163

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Understanding the function of visual short-term memory: transsaccadic memory, object correspondence, and gaze correction

Journal article

Peer reviewed

Understanding the function of visual short-term memory: transsaccadic memory, object correspondence, and gaze correction

Andrew Hollingworth, Ashleigh M Richard and Steven J Luck

Journal of experimental psychology. General, Vol.137(1), pp.163-181

02/2008

DOI: 10.1037/0096-3445.137.1.163

PMCID: PMC2784885

PMID: 18248135

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https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/2784885View

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Abstract

Visual short-term memory (VSTM) has received intensive study over the past decade, with research focused on VSTM capacity and representational format. Yet, the function of VSTM in human cognition is not well understood. Here, the authors demonstrate that VSTM plays an important role in the control of saccadic eye movements. Intelligent human behavior depends on directing the eyes to goal-relevant objects in the world, yet saccades are very often inaccurate and require correction. The authors hypothesized that VSTM is used to remember the features of the current saccade target so that it can be rapidly reacquired after an errant saccade, a task faced by the visual system thousands of times each day. In 4 experiments, memory-based gaze correction was accurate, fast, automatic, and largely unconscious. In addition, a concurrent VSTM load interfered with memory-based gaze correction, but a verbal short-term memory load did not. These findings demonstrate that VSTM plays a direct role in a fundamentally important aspect of visually guided behavior, and they suggest the existence of previously unknown links between VSTM representations and the occulomotor system.

Color Perception

Fixation, Ocular

Humans

Memory, Short-Term

Rotation

Saccades

Visual Perception

Details

Title: Subtitle: Understanding the function of visual short-term memory: transsaccadic memory, object correspondence, and gaze correction
Creators: Andrew Hollingworth - Department of Psychology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242-1407, USA. andrew-hollingworth@uiowa.edu
Ashleigh M Richard
Steven J Luck
Resource Type: Journal article
Publication Details: Journal of experimental psychology. General, Vol.137(1), pp.163-181
DOI: 10.1037/0096-3445.137.1.163
PMID: 18248135
PMCID: PMC2784885
NLM abbreviation: J Exp Psychol Gen
ISSN: 0096-3445
eISSN: 1939-2222
Grant note: R01MH076226 / NIMH NIH HHS R03 MH065456 / NIMH NIH HHS R01 MH063001 / NIMH NIH HHS R01 EY017356-01 / NEI NIH HHS R01MH063001 / NIMH NIH HHS R01 EY017356 / NEI NIH HHS R01MH65456 / NIMH NIH HHS R01 MH076226 / NIMH NIH HHS R01EY017356 / NEI NIH HHS
Language: English
Date published: 02/2008
Academic Unit: Psychological and Brain Sciences
Record Identifier: 9984213423502771

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