The Intensity of Internal and External Attention Assessed with Pupillometry
Not only is visual attention shifted to objects in the external world, attention can also be directed to objects in memory. We have recently shown that pupil size indexes how strongly items are attended externally, which was reflected in more precise encoding into visual working memory. Using a retr...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Ubiquity Press
2024-01-01
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| Series: | Journal of Cognition |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://account.journalofcognition.org/index.php/up-j-jc/article/view/336 |
| _version_ | 1797315765193408512 |
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| author | Damian Koevoet Marnix Naber Christoph Strauch Stefan Van der Stigchel |
| author_facet | Damian Koevoet Marnix Naber Christoph Strauch Stefan Van der Stigchel |
| author_sort | Damian Koevoet |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Not only is visual attention shifted to objects in the external world, attention can also be directed to objects in memory. We have recently shown that pupil size indexes how strongly items are attended externally, which was reflected in more precise encoding into visual working memory. Using a retro-cuing paradigm, we here replicated this finding by showing that stronger pupil constrictions during encoding were reflective of the depth of encoding. Importantly, we extend this previous work by showing that pupil size also revealed the intensity of internal attention toward content stored in visual working memory. Specifically, pupil dilation during the prioritization of one among multiple internally stored representations predicted the precision of the prioritized item. Furthermore, the dynamics of the pupillary responses revealed that the intensity of internal and external attention independently determined the precision of internalized visual representations. Our results show that both internal and external attention are not all-or-none processes, but should rather be thought of as continuous resources that can be deployed at varying intensities. The employed pupillometric approach allows to unravel the intricate interplay between internal and external attention and their effects on visual working memory. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T03:08:35Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-1c787f1a48044df6adccb8b2612f25ab |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2514-4820 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T03:08:35Z |
| publishDate | 2024-01-01 |
| publisher | Ubiquity Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Cognition |
| spelling | doaj.art-1c787f1a48044df6adccb8b2612f25ab2024-02-13T07:37:29ZengUbiquity PressJournal of Cognition2514-48202024-01-01718810.5334/joc.336335The Intensity of Internal and External Attention Assessed with PupillometryDamian Koevoet0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9395-6524Marnix Naber1https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4208-8437Christoph Strauch2https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6380-8635Stefan Van der Stigchel3https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5918-3521Experimental Psychology, Helmholtz Institute, Utrecht UniversityExperimental Psychology, Helmholtz Institute, Utrecht UniversityExperimental Psychology, Helmholtz Institute, Utrecht UniversityExperimental Psychology, Helmholtz Institute, Utrecht UniversityNot only is visual attention shifted to objects in the external world, attention can also be directed to objects in memory. We have recently shown that pupil size indexes how strongly items are attended externally, which was reflected in more precise encoding into visual working memory. Using a retro-cuing paradigm, we here replicated this finding by showing that stronger pupil constrictions during encoding were reflective of the depth of encoding. Importantly, we extend this previous work by showing that pupil size also revealed the intensity of internal attention toward content stored in visual working memory. Specifically, pupil dilation during the prioritization of one among multiple internally stored representations predicted the precision of the prioritized item. Furthermore, the dynamics of the pupillary responses revealed that the intensity of internal and external attention independently determined the precision of internalized visual representations. Our results show that both internal and external attention are not all-or-none processes, but should rather be thought of as continuous resources that can be deployed at varying intensities. The employed pupillometric approach allows to unravel the intricate interplay between internal and external attention and their effects on visual working memory.https://account.journalofcognition.org/index.php/up-j-jc/article/view/336visual working memorypupillometryinternal attentionexternal attentionintensity |
| spellingShingle | Damian Koevoet Marnix Naber Christoph Strauch Stefan Van der Stigchel The Intensity of Internal and External Attention Assessed with Pupillometry Journal of Cognition visual working memory pupillometry internal attention external attention intensity |
| title | The Intensity of Internal and External Attention Assessed with Pupillometry |
| title_full | The Intensity of Internal and External Attention Assessed with Pupillometry |
| title_fullStr | The Intensity of Internal and External Attention Assessed with Pupillometry |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Intensity of Internal and External Attention Assessed with Pupillometry |
| title_short | The Intensity of Internal and External Attention Assessed with Pupillometry |
| title_sort | intensity of internal and external attention assessed with pupillometry |
| topic | visual working memory pupillometry internal attention external attention intensity |
| url | https://account.journalofcognition.org/index.php/up-j-jc/article/view/336 |
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