The visual analog: evidence for a preattentive representation across saccades.
Earlier research supports the idea that transsaccadic memory involves a relatively sparse and abstract representation with little detail, much like visual short-term memory (VSTM) within a fixation. We examined whether transsaccadic memory is restricted to VSTM representations or whether it also includes a maskable, short-lived, and more detailed representation, referred to as the visual analog. First, a within-fixation change detection experiment is reported, aimed at clarifying the distinction between VSTM and the visual analog, and also the relationship between the two components. We then report 4 transsaccadic change detection experiments that make use of a modified version of the blanking paradigm originally introduced by H. Deubel, W. X. Schneider, and B. Bridgeman (1996). The results support the idea that transsaccadic memory includes a VSTM representation for attended objects (i.e., the saccade target) and a visual analog component for both attended and non-attended objects.
Germeys
Filip
F
Department of Psychology, University of Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.
De Graef
Peter
P
Van Eccelpoel
Caroline
C
Verfaillie
Karl
K
D001288:Attention / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008568:Memory / Q000502:physiology*; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D012438:Saccades / Q000502:physiology*; D014796:Visual Perception / Q000502:physiology*