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How low can you go? Changing the resolution of novel complex objects in visual working memory according to task demands
In three experiments we manipulated the resolution of novel complex objects in visual working memory (WM) by changing task demands. Previous studies that investigated the trade-off between quantity and resolution in visual WM yielded mixed results for simple familiar stimuli. We used the contralater...
Autores principales: | , , |
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Formato: | Online Artículo Texto |
Lenguaje: | English |
Publicado: |
Frontiers Media S.A.
2014
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Materias: | |
Acceso en línea: | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3975110/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24734026 http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00265 |
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author | Allon, Ayala S. Balaban, Halely Luria, Roy |
author_facet | Allon, Ayala S. Balaban, Halely Luria, Roy |
author_sort | Allon, Ayala S. |
collection | PubMed |
description | In three experiments we manipulated the resolution of novel complex objects in visual working memory (WM) by changing task demands. Previous studies that investigated the trade-off between quantity and resolution in visual WM yielded mixed results for simple familiar stimuli. We used the contralateral delay activity as an electrophysiological marker to directly track the deployment of visual WM resources while participants preformed a change-detection task. Across three experiments we presented the same novel complex items but changed the task demands. In Experiment 1 we induced a medium resolution task by using change trials in which a random polygon changed to a different type of polygon and replicated previous findings showing that novel complex objects are represented with higher resolution relative to simple familiar objects. In Experiment 2 we induced a low resolution task that required distinguishing between polygons and other types of stimulus categories, but we failed in finding a corresponding decrease in the resolution of the represented item. Finally, in Experiment 3 we induced a high resolution task that required discriminating between highly similar polygons with somewhat different contours. This time, we observed an increase in the item’s resolution. Our findings indicate that the resolution for novel complex objects can be increased but not decreased according to task demands, suggesting that minimal resolution is required in order to maintain these items in visual WM. These findings support studies claiming that capacity and resolution in visual WM reflect different mechanisms. |
format | Online Article Text |
id | pubmed-3975110 |
institution | National Center for Biotechnology Information |
language | English |
publishDate | 2014 |
publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
record_format | MEDLINE/PubMed |
spelling | pubmed-39751102014-04-14 How low can you go? Changing the resolution of novel complex objects in visual working memory according to task demands Allon, Ayala S. Balaban, Halely Luria, Roy Front Psychol Psychology In three experiments we manipulated the resolution of novel complex objects in visual working memory (WM) by changing task demands. Previous studies that investigated the trade-off between quantity and resolution in visual WM yielded mixed results for simple familiar stimuli. We used the contralateral delay activity as an electrophysiological marker to directly track the deployment of visual WM resources while participants preformed a change-detection task. Across three experiments we presented the same novel complex items but changed the task demands. In Experiment 1 we induced a medium resolution task by using change trials in which a random polygon changed to a different type of polygon and replicated previous findings showing that novel complex objects are represented with higher resolution relative to simple familiar objects. In Experiment 2 we induced a low resolution task that required distinguishing between polygons and other types of stimulus categories, but we failed in finding a corresponding decrease in the resolution of the represented item. Finally, in Experiment 3 we induced a high resolution task that required discriminating between highly similar polygons with somewhat different contours. This time, we observed an increase in the item’s resolution. Our findings indicate that the resolution for novel complex objects can be increased but not decreased according to task demands, suggesting that minimal resolution is required in order to maintain these items in visual WM. These findings support studies claiming that capacity and resolution in visual WM reflect different mechanisms. Frontiers Media S.A. 2014-03-28 /pmc/articles/PMC3975110/ /pubmed/24734026 http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00265 Text en Copyright © 2014 Allon, Balaban and Luria. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms. |
spellingShingle | Psychology Allon, Ayala S. Balaban, Halely Luria, Roy How low can you go? Changing the resolution of novel complex objects in visual working memory according to task demands |
title | How low can you go? Changing the resolution of novel complex objects in visual working memory according to task demands |
title_full | How low can you go? Changing the resolution of novel complex objects in visual working memory according to task demands |
title_fullStr | How low can you go? Changing the resolution of novel complex objects in visual working memory according to task demands |
title_full_unstemmed | How low can you go? Changing the resolution of novel complex objects in visual working memory according to task demands |
title_short | How low can you go? Changing the resolution of novel complex objects in visual working memory according to task demands |
title_sort | how low can you go? changing the resolution of novel complex objects in visual working memory according to task demands |
topic | Psychology |
url | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3975110/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24734026 http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00265 |
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