Skip to main content
bioRxiv
  • Home
  • About
  • Submit
  • ALERTS / RSS
Advanced Search
New Results

The neural basis of precise visual short-term memory for complex recognisable objects

View ORCID ProfileMichele Veldsman, Daniel J. Mitchell, Rhodri Cusack
doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/085068
Michele Veldsman
1Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • ORCID record for Michele Veldsman
Daniel J. Mitchell
2Medical Research Council Cognition and Brain Science Unit, Cambridge, UK
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Rhodri Cusack
3Brain and Mind Institute, University of Western Ontario, London, Canada
4Trinity College Institute of Neuroscience, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • Abstract
  • Full Text
  • Info/History
  • Metrics
  • Supplementary material
  • Preview PDF
Loading

Abstract

Recent evidence suggests that visual short-term memory (VSTM) capacity estimated using simple objects, such as colours and oriented bars, may not generalise well to more naturalistic stimuli. More visual detail can be stored in VSTM when complex, recognisable objects are maintained compared to simple objects. It is not yet known if it is recognisability that enhances memory precision, nor whether maintenance of recognisable objects is achieved with the same network of brain regions supporting maintenance of simple objects.

We used a novel stimulus generation method to parametrically warp photographic images along a continuum, allowing separate estimation of the precision of memory representations and the number of items retained. The stimulus generation method was also designed to create unrecognisable, though perceptually matched, stimuli, to investigate the impact of recognisability on VSTM. We adapted the widely-used change detection and continuous report paradigms for use with complex, photographic images.

Across three functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) experiments, we demonstrated greater precision for recognisable objects in VSTM compared to unrecognisable objects. This clear behavioural advantage was not the result of recruitment of additional brain regions, or of stronger mean activity within the core network. Representational similarity analysis revealed greater variability across item repetitions in the representations of recognisable, compared to unrecognisable complex objects. We therefore propose that a richer range of neural representations support VSTM for complex recognisable objects.

Copyright 
The copyright holder for this preprint is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. It is made available under a CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license.
Back to top
PreviousNext
Posted July 17, 2017.
Download PDF

Supplementary Material

Email

Thank you for your interest in spreading the word about bioRxiv.

NOTE: Your email address is requested solely to identify you as the sender of this article.

Enter multiple addresses on separate lines or separate them with commas.
The neural basis of precise visual short-term memory for complex recognisable objects
(Your Name) has forwarded a page to you from bioRxiv
(Your Name) thought you would like to see this page from the bioRxiv website.
CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.
Share
The neural basis of precise visual short-term memory for complex recognisable objects
Michele Veldsman, Daniel J. Mitchell, Rhodri Cusack
bioRxiv 085068; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/085068
Reddit logo Twitter logo Facebook logo LinkedIn logo Mendeley logo
Citation Tools
The neural basis of precise visual short-term memory for complex recognisable objects
Michele Veldsman, Daniel J. Mitchell, Rhodri Cusack
bioRxiv 085068; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/085068

Citation Manager Formats

  • BibTeX
  • Bookends
  • EasyBib
  • EndNote (tagged)
  • EndNote 8 (xml)
  • Medlars
  • Mendeley
  • Papers
  • RefWorks Tagged
  • Ref Manager
  • RIS
  • Zotero
  • Tweet Widget
  • Facebook Like
  • Google Plus One

Subject Area

  • Neuroscience
Subject Areas
All Articles
  • Animal Behavior and Cognition (4384)
  • Biochemistry (9610)
  • Bioengineering (7104)
  • Bioinformatics (24897)
  • Biophysics (12632)
  • Cancer Biology (9974)
  • Cell Biology (14373)
  • Clinical Trials (138)
  • Developmental Biology (7966)
  • Ecology (12126)
  • Epidemiology (2067)
  • Evolutionary Biology (16002)
  • Genetics (10936)
  • Genomics (14756)
  • Immunology (9880)
  • Microbiology (23698)
  • Molecular Biology (9490)
  • Neuroscience (50924)
  • Paleontology (370)
  • Pathology (1541)
  • Pharmacology and Toxicology (2687)
  • Physiology (4023)
  • Plant Biology (8674)
  • Scientific Communication and Education (1511)
  • Synthetic Biology (2402)
  • Systems Biology (6444)
  • Zoology (1346)