We explored the interaction between the processing of a low-level visual feature such as orientation and the contents of working memory (WM). In a first experiment, participants memorized the orientation of a Gabor patch and performed two subsequent orientation discriminations during the retention interval. The WM stimulus exerted a consistent repulsive effect on the discrimination judgments: participants were more likely to report that the discrimination stimulus was rotated clockwise compared to the oblique after being presented with a stimulus that was tilted anti-clockwise from the oblique. A control condition where participants attended to the Gabor patch but did not memorize it, showed a much reduced effect. The repulsive effect was stable across the two discriminations in the memory condition, but not in the control condition, where it decayed at the second discrimination. In a second experiment, we showed that the greater interference observed in the WM condition cannot be explained by a difference in cognitive demands between the WM and the control condition. We conclude that WM contents can bias perception: the effect of WM interference is of a visual nature, can last over delays of several seconds and is not disrupted by the processing of intervening visual stimuli during the retention period.

Scocchia, L., Cicchini, G., Triesch, J. (2013). What’s ‘‘up’’? Working memory contents can bias orientation processing. VISION RESEARCH, 78, 46-55 [10.1016/j.visres.2012.12.003].

What’s ‘‘up’’? Working memory contents can bias orientation processing

SCOCCHIA, LISA
;
2013

Abstract

We explored the interaction between the processing of a low-level visual feature such as orientation and the contents of working memory (WM). In a first experiment, participants memorized the orientation of a Gabor patch and performed two subsequent orientation discriminations during the retention interval. The WM stimulus exerted a consistent repulsive effect on the discrimination judgments: participants were more likely to report that the discrimination stimulus was rotated clockwise compared to the oblique after being presented with a stimulus that was tilted anti-clockwise from the oblique. A control condition where participants attended to the Gabor patch but did not memorize it, showed a much reduced effect. The repulsive effect was stable across the two discriminations in the memory condition, but not in the control condition, where it decayed at the second discrimination. In a second experiment, we showed that the greater interference observed in the WM condition cannot be explained by a difference in cognitive demands between the WM and the control condition. We conclude that WM contents can bias perception: the effect of WM interference is of a visual nature, can last over delays of several seconds and is not disrupted by the processing of intervening visual stimuli during the retention period.
Articolo in rivista - Articolo scientifico
Visual working memory,Deployment of attention, Orientation discrimination; Tilt aftereffect;
English
19-dic-2012
2013
78
46
55
none
Scocchia, L., Cicchini, G., Triesch, J. (2013). What’s ‘‘up’’? Working memory contents can bias orientation processing. VISION RESEARCH, 78, 46-55 [10.1016/j.visres.2012.12.003].
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/10281/49374
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