Contrast and strength of visual memory and imagery differentially affect visual perception

dc.contributorAalto-yliopistofi
dc.contributorAalto Universityen
dc.contributor.authorSaad, Elyana
dc.contributor.authorSilvanto, Juha
dc.contributor.departmentO.V.Lounasmaa-laboratorioen
dc.contributor.departmentDepartment of Neuroscience and Biomedical Engineeringen
dc.date.accessioned2017-05-11T08:37:50Z
dc.date.available2017-05-11T08:37:50Z
dc.date.issued2013-12-20
dc.description.abstractVisual short-term memory (VSTM) and visual imagery have been shown to modulate visual perception. However, how the subjective experience of VSTM/imagery and its contrast modulate this process has not been investigated. We addressed this issue by asking participants to detect brief masked targets while they were engaged either in VSTM or visual imagery. Subjective experience of memory/imagery (strength scale), and the visual contrast of the memory/mental image (contrast scale) were assessed on a trial-by-trial basis. For both VSTM and imagery, contrast of the memory/mental image was positively associated with reporting target presence. Consequently, at the sensory level, both VSTM and imagery facilitated visual perception. However, subjective strength of VSTM was positively associated with visual detection whereas the opposite pattern was found for imagery. Thus the relationship between subjective strength of memory/imagery and visual detection are qualitatively different for VSTM and visual imagery, although their impact at the sensory level appears similar. Our results furthermore demonstrate that imagery and VSTM are partly dissociable processes.en
dc.description.versionPeer revieweden
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdf
dc.identifier.citationSaad, E & Silvanto, J 2013, 'Contrast and strength of visual memory and imagery differentially affect visual perception', PloS one, vol. 8, no. 12, e84827, pp. 1-9. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0084827en
dc.identifier.doi10.1371/journal.pone.0084827
dc.identifier.issn1932-6203
dc.identifier.otherPURE UUID: 91b4e935-168c-4855-9cff-e843ab0bf36e
dc.identifier.otherPURE ITEMURL: https://research.aalto.fi/en/publications/91b4e935-168c-4855-9cff-e843ab0bf36e
dc.identifier.otherPURE LINK: http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84893203320&partnerID=8YFLogxK
dc.identifier.otherPURE FILEURL: https://research.aalto.fi/files/12865219/journal.pone.0084827.pdf
dc.identifier.urihttps://aaltodoc.aalto.fi/handle/123456789/25693
dc.identifier.urnURN:NBN:fi:aalto-201705114077
dc.language.isoenen
dc.publisherPublic Library of Science
dc.relation.ispartofseriesPloS oneen
dc.relation.ispartofseriesVolume 8, issue 12, pp. 1-9en
dc.rightsopenAccessen
dc.titleContrast and strength of visual memory and imagery differentially affect visual perceptionen
dc.typeA1 Alkuperäisartikkeli tieteellisessä aikakauslehdessäfi
dc.type.versionpublishedVersion

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