Perception and memory are central to the ordinary but important activities of everyday life. When cooperative interactions between the two processes are undermined by genetic or acquired disorder, by drugs of abuse, by inattention, or by age-related changes, the quality of cognitive life suffers. The project's long-term goal is the synthesis of concepts, insights and methods of memory research and ones from sensory research to produce a powerful, coherent framework for understanding cognition. The project's stimulus-oriented approach exploits careful design and control over stimuli, including techniques that minimize the impact of individual differences in perception. The project spans diverse stimulus classes: Gabors, spectro-temporally complex sounds, synthetic faces, parameterized 3D objects, and names.
Aim One reveals how study item homogeneity influences item recognition. Comparing alternative accounts, the Aim dissects the route by which homogeneity is evaluated, and the origin of its influence. Thus, the Aim characterizes completely an important, recently-discovered powerful influence on recognition. With sets of comparable auditory and visual stimuli, Aim Two focuses on attentional selectivity by evaluating the impact of task-irrelevant information from different stimulus dimensions.
The Aim i dentifies the mechanism(s) by which task-irrelevant information influences or fails to influence memory, and defines the way that task-relevant and task-irrelevant information is integrated. Guided by a summed-similarity model of associative recognition, Aim Three exploits carefully-controlled name-face stimulus pairs. Innovations include the control of stimulus similarity and homogeneity for both members of each name-face pair, which makes it possible to define the way that associative memory integrates both sources of information.
Aim Four synthesizes NEMO, a global-matching model for item-recognition, with the Temporal Context Model (TCM). TCM describes how a rememberer's representation context evolves as new information is encountered. This synthesis yields a sophisticated, context-sensitive, stimulus-oriented account of item and associative recognition. This innovative model, C-NEMo, clarifies temporal information's contribution to recent effects and proactive interference. Also, by incorporating a drift-diffusion framework for choice reaction times, C-NEMo builds both speed and accuracy measures into our stimulus-oriented approach to memory.
Perception and memory are central to the cognitive activities that determine a person's quality of life. When their cooperative interactions are undermined by genetic or acquired disorder, by drugs of abuse, or by trauma- or age-related changes in the brain or sensory organs, everyday activities are restricted, and quality of life is diminished. This project contributes to the understanding of the mutually-reinforcing interactions between memory and perception, which are required for the development of sensitive assessment tools and effective interventions that are tailored to the needs of particular individuals.
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