Is Stimulus Structure in the Mind's Eye? An Examination of Dimensional Structure in Iconic Memory

1987 ◽  
Vol 39 (3) ◽  
pp. 385-408 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barbara Burns
Keyword(s):  
Iconic Memory ◽  
Feature Integration ◽  
Partial Report ◽  
Dimensional Structure ◽  
Radial Line ◽  
Perceptual Development ◽  
Circle Size ◽  
Initial Processing ◽  
Mind's Eye

Three experiments examined integral and separable dimensions as attentional selective cues from iconic memory. Sperling's partial-report task was employed with physically separable and physically integral stimuli. Stimulus displays were varied in terms of the redundancy of the irrelevant non-cued dimensions—i.e. control, correlated, and orthogonal conditions within Garner's (1974a) framework—and selective readout performance was measured. The results demonstrate that, in initial processing, physically separable dimensions (e.g., circle size vs. angle of radial line) can be selectively attended to as independent dimensions, but physically integral dimensions (e.g., size vs. brightness and height vs. width) can only be represented as wholistic integral objects. Implications of these findings for current models of feature integration and perceptual development are discussed.

Integral and Separable Stimulus Structure in Iconic Memory: A Replication and Extension of Burns (1987)

1987 ◽  
Vol 64 (1) ◽  
pp. 263-270 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barbara Burns ◽  
Andrew Hopkins
Keyword(s):  
Iconic Memory ◽  
Feature Integration

Sperling's partial/whole-report methodology (Sperling, 1960) was employed with dimensions from integral and separable stimuli as selection cues. The redundancy of the stimulus combinations presented was varied in correlated, control, and orthogonal conditions, and selective readout performance was measured. In this way, the effects of the noncued dimension on selective readout of the cued dimension could be characterized for integral and separable stimuli. Results support and extend the findings recently presented by Burns and indicate that stimulus structure (e.g., integral, separable) is an important factor in determining the feature integration or feature segregation of dimensional combinations in selective readout from iconic memory.

Temporal Aspects of Selective Masking

1975 ◽  
Vol 27 (3) ◽  
pp. 375-385 ◽  
Author(s):  
Douglas G. Lowe
Keyword(s):  
Iconic Memory ◽  
Partial Report ◽  
Masking Effect ◽  
Minimal Effect ◽  
Selective Effect ◽  
Random Letter ◽  
Temporal Aspects ◽  
Masking Stimulus

In two experiments, rows of random letter sequences were presented for 100 ms and were patterned masked at varying delays after display offset. In Experiment I recall was probed by visual partial report cues, while auditory probes were employed in Experiment II. Compared to no-masking control conditions, the masking stimulus had a selective effect at the different positions of the rows. The masking stimulus produced the largest decrements in recall of letters from the centre positions of the displays but had a minimal effect on performance at either end of the rows. Furthermore, it was demonstrated that improvements in recall were limited to the centre positions of the rows at increased delays of mask. Subsidiary analyses revealed that processing of the end letters of the displays terminates shortly after display offset while processing of the centre letters continues for at least 500 ms. The results are consistent with the notion that processing of multi-letter arrays commences at the ends of the rows and that the selective masking effect reflects the order of processing of the contents of iconic memory. However, these results were evident only in Experiment II which employed auditory partial report cues. When the partial report cues were visual, there were no effects of masking and minimal increases in performance at increased delays of mask. The discrepant results of the two experiments are discussed in terms of process interruption caused by obligatory attention to the partial report cues.

scholarly journals Readout From Iconic Memory and Selective Spatial Attention Involve Similar Neural Processes

2007 ◽  
Vol 18 (10) ◽  
pp. 901-909 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian C. Ruff ◽  
Árni Kristjánsson ◽  
Jon Driver
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Attention ◽  
Iconic Memory ◽  
Occipital Cortex ◽  
Partial Report ◽  
Visual Array ◽  
Neural Processes ◽  
Magnetic Resonance Imaging Evidence ◽  
Neuroimaging Data ◽  
The Right ◽  
Lateral Occipital Cortex

Iconic memory and spatial attention are often considered separately, but they may have functional similarities. Here we provide functional magnetic resonance imaging evidence for some common underlying neural effects. Subjects judged three visual stimuli in one hemifield of a bilateral array comprising six stimuli. The relevant hemifield for partial report was indicated by an auditory cue, administered either before the visual array (precue, spatial attention) or shortly after the array (postcue, iconic memory). Pre- and postcues led to similar activity modulations in lateral occipital cortex contralateral to the cued side. This finding indicates that readout from iconic memory can have some neural effects similar to those of spatial attention. We also found common bilateral activation of a fronto-parietal network for postcue and precue trials. These neuroimaging data suggest that some common neural mechanisms underlie selective spatial attention and readout from iconic memory. Some differences were also found; compared with precues, postcues led to higher activity in the right middle frontal gyrus.

The Effect of Repetition on Iconic Memory

1974 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 266-273 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas V. Merluzzi ◽  
Neal F. Johnson
Keyword(s):  
Present Experiment ◽  
Iconic Memory ◽  
Memory System ◽  
Partial Report ◽  
Permanent Memory ◽  
The Difference

The present experiment examined the influence of repetition on iconic memory using the Sperling (1960) procedure. It was assumed that the whole-report procedure would estimate only information available from a somewhat more permanent memory system than the icon, while the partial report would estimate both that information and the information available in the icon. The difference between the whole and partial report was assumed to measure information available only in the icon. Across a series of 160 displays one particular display occurred half the time (80 repetitions). The results indicated that the repetition influenced recall from the more permanent memory system assessed by whole report, but had no influence on the information available from the icon (partial report minus whole report).

Attentional Factors in Iconic Memory and Visible Persistence

1987 ◽  
Vol 39 (1) ◽  
pp. 149-166 ◽  
Author(s):  
Howard B. Orenstein ◽  
Dennis H. Holding
Keyword(s):  
Iconic Memory ◽  
Visible Persistence ◽  
Partial Report

Arrays of 12 fragmentary letters were followed, at various intervals, by one randomly selected complementary letter fragment. On half the trials a partial-report cue (a vertical bar-marker) coincided with the second completion fragment. In Experiment 1 subjects fixated the centre of the to-be-identified letter location, whereas in Experiment 2 subjects fixated the centre of the array. In Experiment 1, the degree of integration and time between successive fragments were inversely related. Integration of fragmentary letters in Experiment 2, however, was uniformly low in the experimental and guessing control conditions. The results were discussed in terms of recent non-traditional accounts of iconic storage that emphasize post-categorical processing.

scholarly journals Revisiting the prioritization of emotional information in iconic memory

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (10) ◽  
pp. 191507
Author(s):  
Florian Kattner ◽  
Alexandra Clausen
Keyword(s):  
Visual Recognition ◽  
Iconic Memory ◽  
Partial Report ◽  
Visual Images ◽  
Emotional Stimuli ◽  
Emotional Information ◽  
Verbal Recall ◽  
Replication Experiment ◽  
Central Arrow ◽  
Selection Of

In this replication study, the previously reported prioritization of emotional stimuli in iconic memory (Kuhbandner et al . 2011. Psychol. Sci. 22 , 695–700. (doi:10.1177/0956797611406445)) was reinvestigated. Therefore, recall from iconic memory was measured for sets of visual images that were briefly presented in the periphery of the visual field. Using a partial-report technique, a central arrow presented at varying delays after the images was pointing to the location of the to-be-recalled target. In the direct replication (experiment 1, n = 41), participants were asked to verbally report the cued image (note that the entire planned sample size could not be reached owing to the COVID-19 pandemic), and in an extension experiment (experiment 2, n = 55), iconic memory was tested using a visual recognition test. Both experiments demonstrated prioritized selection of emotional targets from iconic memory, with higher verbal recall and visual recognition accuracy for negative and positive targets compared to neutral targets. In addition, we found that the presence of emotional distractors in the set interfered with the selection of neutral targets, thus confirming a trend that was observed in the original study. Exponential decay curves further revealed that both target and distractor valence primarily affected initial availability (in case of verbal recall) and attentional selection, whereas the decay of iconic memory with increasing cue delay was less sensitive to the emotional meaning.

Neural Correlates of Visual Short-term Memory Dissociate between Fragile and Working Memory Representations

2015 ◽  
Vol 27 (12) ◽  
pp. 2477-2490 ◽  
Author(s):  
Annelinde R. E. Vandenbroucke ◽  
Ilja G. Sligte ◽  
Jade G. de Vries ◽  
Michael X. Cohen ◽  
Victor A. F. Lamme
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Visual Working Memory ◽  
Visual Processing ◽  
Short Term Memory ◽  
Iconic Memory ◽  
Partial Report ◽  
Time Frequency ◽  
Gamma Power ◽  
Eeg Recordings ◽  
Memory Stage

Evidence is accumulating that the classic two-stage model of visual STM (VSTM), comprising iconic memory (IM) and visual working memory (WM), is incomplete. A third memory stage, termed fragile VSTM (FM), seems to exist in between IM and WM [Vandenbroucke, A. R. E., Sligte, I. G., & Lamme, V. A. F. Manipulations of attention dissociate fragile visual STM from visual working memory. Neuropsychologia, 49, 1559–1568, 2011; Sligte, I. G., Scholte, H. S., & Lamme, V. A. F. Are there multiple visual STM stores? PLoS One, 3, e1699, 2008]. Although FM can be distinguished from IM using behavioral and fMRI methods, the question remains whether FM is a weak expression of WM or a separate form of memory with its own neural signature. Here, we tested whether FM and WM in humans are supported by dissociable time–frequency features of EEG recordings. Participants performed a partial-report change detection task, from which individual differences in FM and WM capacity were estimated. These individual FM and WM capacities were correlated with time–frequency characteristics of the EEG signal before and during encoding and maintenance of the memory display. FM capacity showed negative alpha correlations over peri-occipital electrodes, whereas WM capacity was positively related, suggesting increased visual processing (lower alpha) to be related to FM capacity. Furthermore, FM capacity correlated with an increase in theta power over central electrodes during preparation and processing of the memory display, whereas WM did not. In addition to a difference in visual processing characteristics, a positive relation between gamma power and FM capacity was observed during both preparation and maintenance periods of the task. On the other hand, we observed that theta–gamma coupling was negatively correlated with FM capacity, whereas it was slightly positively correlated with WM. These data show clear differences in the neural substrates of FM versus WM and suggest that FM depends more on visual processing mechanisms compared with WM. This study thus provides novel evidence for a dissociation between different stages in VSTM.

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