Information Integration and Information Storage in Retinotopic and Non-Retinotopic Sensory Memory

The first stage of the Atkinson–Shiffrin model of human memory is a sensory memory (SM). The visual component of the SM was shown to operate within a retinotopic reference frame. However, a retinotopic SM (rSM) is unable to account for vision under natural viewing conditions because, for example, motion information needs to be analyzed across space and time. For this reason, the SM store of the Atkinson–Shiffrin model has been extended to include a non-retinotopic component (nrSM). In this paper, we analyze findings from two experimental paradigms and show drastically different properties of rSM and nrSM. We show that nrSM involves complex processes such as motion-based reference frames and Gestalt grouping, which establish object identities across space and time. We also describe a quantitative model for nrSM and show drastic differences between the spatio-temporal properties of rSM and nrSM. Since the reference-frame of the latter is non-retinotopic and motion-stream based, we suggest that the spatiotemporal properties of the nrSM are in accordance with the spatiotemporal properties of the motion system. Overall, these findings indicate that, unlike the traditional rSM, which is a relatively passive store, nrSM exhibits sophisticated processing properties to manage the complexities of ecological perception.

Tangled, tangy, microbial threads: Textural methods for rendering past, present, and future sensory memories

How to render sensory memory? In this article, I speculate on the possibilities of textural methods which attend closely to textile forms, specifically embroidery, as a way to explore this enduring question in multimodal research. To open up concerns about bodily relations between humans, as well as the more-than-human bodies we share worlds with, this article focuses on sensory memory fragments of encounters with the microbial conglomerations of sourdough bread starter. I offer three bubbling, sour-sweet texts: 1) an archived auto-ethnographic account of learning how to make a sourdough starter; 2) a social-media inspired piece on the sticky home archives of quarantine; and 3) a future speculative citizen science project. These fragments co-exist with microbes I have embroidered on ancient linens. From the tangy strings of sourdough histories, and the tangled threads in cloth I draw concrete methodological suggestions for new directions in textural research projects, such as material fieldnotes and crafted data. In doing so, I join other authors in this special issue in the call for multimodal forms of ethnographic storytelling about sensory memory, in this case one that attends not only to messy entanglements with bodies but also their textural, material, layered histories extending into the depth of their surfaces.

Aphantasia : silence in the mind

Calling to mind the senses associated with our memories is something the majority of us think of as a universal experience. But what if you could not bring back the sensations from any of your memories? Silence in the Mind was performed on June 28th, 2017 at Burdock in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, as a live interactive documentary exploring those who are aphantasic: people who do not possess a sensory memory. This project seeks to understand variations on the human experience, and how we as unique individuals perceive the world around us. Silence in the Mind, recorded as an audio documentary, examines a newly discovered way in which some people have always experienced the world around them.

Aphantasia : silence in the mind

Calling to mind the senses associated with our memories is something the majority of us think of as a universal experience. But what if you could not bring back the sensations from any of your memories? Silence in the Mind was performed on June 28th, 2017 at Burdock in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, as a live interactive documentary exploring those who are aphantasic: people who do not possess a sensory memory. This project seeks to understand variations on the human experience, and how we as unique individuals perceive the world around us. Silence in the Mind, recorded as an audio documentary, examines a newly discovered way in which some people have always experienced the world around them.

An extended lattice hydrodynamic model considering the average optimal velocity effect field and driver’s sensory memory

A modified lattice hydrodynamic model is proposed by considering the driver’s sensory memory and the average optimal velocity effect field. The stability conditions of the novel model are further analyzed theoretically through the linear analysis. The nonlinear modified Korteweg–de Vries (mKdV) equation near the critical point is obtained, which can describe the jamming transition of traffic flow properly. Numerical simulations for the novel model are carried out and the results validate that the traffic jam can be suppressed efficiently by considering the average optimal velocity effect field and driver’s sensory memory. Besides, the energy consumption simulation is devised to investigate the stability of the traffic system. Eventually, PMES data is adopted to calibrate and evaluate the parameters of the proposed model, which proves that it precisely reflects the evolution of traffic flow. All the simulation results verify the feasibility and validity of this model.

Assessing the integrity of auditory processing and sensory memory in adults with cystinosis (CTNS gene mutations)

Background Cystinosis, a rare lysosomal storage disease, is characterized by cystine crystallization and accumulation within tissues and organs, including the kidneys and brain. Its impact on neural function appears mild relative to its effects on other organs, but therapeutic advances have led to substantially increased life expectancy, necessitating deeper understanding of its impact on neurocognitive function in adulthood. We previously demonstrated intact auditory sensory processing, accompanied by mild sensory memory difficulties, in children and adolescents with cystinosis. Methods We investigated whether further progressive decrements in these processes would be observed in adults with cystinosis, comparing high-density auditory-evoked potential (AEP) recordings from adults with cystinosis (N = 15; ages: 19–38 years) to those of age-matched controls (N = 17). We employed a duration oddball paradigm with different stimulation rates, in which participants passively listened to regularly occurring standard tones interspersed with infrequently occurring deviant tones. Analyses focused on AEP components reflecting auditory sensory-perceptual processing (N1 and P2), sensory memory (mismatch negativity, MMN), and attentional orienting (P3a). Results Overall, adults with cystinosis produced highly similar sensory-perceptual AEP responses to those observed in controls suggesting intact early auditory cortical processing. However, significantly increased P2 and P3a amplitudes and reduced MMN at slower stimulation rates were observed, suggesting mild-to-moderate changes in auditory sensory memory and attentional processing. While cognitive testing revealed lower scores on verbal IQ and perceptual reasoning in cystinosis, these did not correlate with the AEP measures. Conclusions These neurophysiological data point to the emergence of subtle auditory processing deficits in early adulthood in cystinosis, warranting further investigation of memory and attentional processes in this population, and of their consequences for perceptual and cognitive function.

Masking interferes with haptic texture perception from sequential exploratory movements

Haptic texture perception is based on sensory information sequentially gathered during several lateral movements (“strokes”). In this process, sensory information of earlier strokes must be preserved in a memory system. We investigated whether this system may be a haptic sensory memory. In the first experiment, participants performed three strokes across each of two textures in a frequency discrimination task. Between the strokes over the first texture, participants explored an intermediate area, which presented either a mask (high-energy tactile pattern) or minimal stimulation (low-energy smooth surface). Perceptual precision was significantly lower with the mask compared with a three-strokes control condition without an intermediate area, approaching performance in a one-stroke-control condition. In contrast, precision in the minimal stimulation condition was significantly better than in the one-stroke control condition and similar to the three-strokes control condition. In a second experiment, we varied the number of strokes across the first stimulus (one, three, five, or seven strokes) and either presented no masking or repeated masking after each stroke. Again, masking between the strokes decreased perceptual precision relative to the control conditions without masking. Precision effects of masking over different numbers of strokes were fit by a proven model on haptic serial integration (Lezkan & Drewing, Attention, Perception, & Psychophysics 80(1): 177–192, 2018b) that modeled masking by repeated disturbances in the ongoing integration. Taken together, results suggest that masking impedes the processes of haptic information preservation and integration. We conclude that a haptic sensory memory, which is comparable to iconic memory in vision, is used for integrating sequentially gathered sensory information.

The Effect of Mental Maps to Develop the Sensory Memory of the Skill of Starting Free Swimming and Achieving (50) Freestyle Meters

This study aims to show the importance of the mental map for the skill of starting the learner in free swimming.It also Identifies the importance of the mental map to develop the sensory memory in starting from the platform in free swimming and achieving (50) meters.There are statistically significant differences for the research sample in favor of the experimental group. In this group,the mental map is used to develop the perceptual memory of the skill of starting free swimming. The researcher used the experimental approach in a controlled equal group method with two pre and post tests. This approach suits the nature of the problem. The research population was first grade students and the research sample was the students who know free swimming at Tikrit University for the academic year 2018-2019. The sample was divided into control and experimental groups, six students in each group. The students knew freestyle swimming and did not learn to start from the platform, and the researcher used the statistical method of SPSS for the purpose of data processing.