Context information supports serial dependence of multiple visual objects across memory episodes

Fischer, C., Czoschke, S., Peters, B. , Rahm, B., Kaiser, J. and Bledowski, C. (2020) Context information supports serial dependence of multiple visual objects across memory episodes. Nature Communications, 11, 1932. (doi: 10.1038/s41467-020-15874-w) (PMID:32321924) (PMCID:PMC7176712)

Abstract

Serial dependence is thought to promote perceptual stability by compensating for small changes of an object’s appearance across memory episodes. So far, it has been studied in situations that comprised only a single object. The question of how we selectively create temporal stability of several objects remains unsolved. In a memory task, objects can be differentiated by their to-be-memorized feature (content) as well as accompanying discriminative features (context). We test whether congruent context features, in addition to content similarity, support serial dependence. In four experiments, we observe a stronger serial dependence between objects that share the same context features across trials. Apparently, the binding of content and context features is not erased but rather carried over to the subsequent memory episode. As this reflects temporal dependencies in natural settings, our findings reveal a mechanism that integrates corresponding content and context features to support stable representations of individualized objects over time.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Peters, Dr Benjamin
• Authors: Fischer, C., Czoschke, S., Peters, B., Rahm, B., Kaiser, J., and Bledowski, C.
• College/School: College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Psychology & Neuroscience
• Journal Name: Nature Communications
• Publisher: Nature Research
• ISSN: 2041-1723
• ISSN (Online): 2041-1723
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © The Author(s) 2020
• First Published: First published in Nature Communications 11:1932
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced under a creative commons licence