Abstract
Eye vergence is the slow movement of both eyes in opposite directions enabling binocular vision. Recently, it was suggested that vergence could be involved in orienting visual attention and memory having a role in cognitive processing of sensory information. In the present study, we assessed whether such vergence responses are observed in early childhood. We measured eye vergence responses in 43 children (12–37 months of age) while looking at novel and repeated object images. Based on previous research, we hypothesized that visual attention and Visual Short-Term Memory (VSMT) would be evidenced by differential vergence responses for both experimental conditions, i.e. repeated (familiar) vs. novel items. The results show that attention related vergence is present in early childhood and that responses to repeated images differ from the ones to novel items. Our current findings suggest that vergence mechanisms could be linking visual attention with short-term memory recognition.
Highlights
The Visual Short-Term Memory (VSTM) system can create memory representations rapidly, based on object perception and mediated by visual attention (Hollingworth & Henderson, 2002; Johnson, Hollingworth, & Luck, 2008; Matsukura & Vecera, 2009)
Visual attention, which has a pivotal role in cognitive processing of sensory information, is a driver of VSTM (Astle & Scerif, 2011)
During the process of orienting visual attention to a visual stimulus in the periphery, the eyes briefly converge. Such vergence responses were observed during top-down and bottom-up generated shifts of visual attention, where attentional load positively correlated with the strength of the vergence response (Solé Puig, Puigcerver, et al, 2013)
Summary
The Visual Short-Term Memory (VSTM) system can create memory representations rapidly, based on object perception and mediated by visual attention (Hollingworth & Henderson, 2002; Johnson, Hollingworth, & Luck, 2008; Matsukura & Vecera, 2009). During the process of orienting visual attention to a visual stimulus in the periphery, the eyes briefly converge Such vergence responses were observed during top-down and bottom-up generated shifts of visual attention, where attentional load positively correlated with the strength of the vergence response (Solé Puig, Puigcerver, et al, 2013). Solé Puig and colleagues found that repeated stimuli elicited stronger vergence responses than novel ones This was especially the case when the repeated stimulus was correctly identified. Based on these observations it was proposed that eye vergence could have a role in attention and memory processing of visual information
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