Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

Visual short-term memory during smooth pursuit eye movements.

Dirk Kerzel1, Nathalie E Ziegler1

  • 1Department of General and Experimental Psychology.

Journal of Experimental Psychology. Human Perception and Performance
|April 14, 2005
PubMed
Summary

Smooth pursuit eye movements impair visual short-term memory (VSTM) for object position. However, VSTM for color and peripheral object position is unaffected when items move with the eye, suggesting attention is focused on the tracked target.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Temporal acceleration drives the probability cueing effect in visual search: Evidence for early attentional deployment (N1pc) at high-probability locations.

Cortex; a journal devoted to the study of the nervous system and behavior·2026
Same author

A multilab investigation into the N2pc as an indicator of attentional selectivity: Direct replication of Eimer (1996).

Cortex; a journal devoted to the study of the nervous system and behavior·2025
Same author

Guidance of attention by irrelevant contents of working memory is transient.

Journal of experimental psychology. Human perception and performance·2025
Same author

Electrophysiological evidence for the optimal tuning of attention.

Scientific reports·2025
Same author

Persistent effects of salience in visual working memory: Limits of cue-driven guidance.

Journal of experimental psychology. Human perception and performance·2025
Same author

Priming of pop-out in the spatial-cueing paradigm.

Attention, perception & psychophysics·2024

Area of Science:

  • Cognitive Neuroscience
  • Ophthalmology
  • Visual Perception

Background:

  • Visual short-term memory (VSTM) is crucial for everyday tasks.
  • Smooth pursuit eye movements are essential for tracking moving objects.
  • The relationship between VSTM and smooth pursuit is not fully understood.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate how smooth pursuit eye movements affect VSTM capacity for object position and color.
  • To determine if VSTM deficits during smooth pursuit are related to retinal image motion or attentional shifts.

Main Methods:

  • Participants performed smooth pursuit eye movements while their VSTM was probed.
  • VSTM capacity for position and color was measured under different conditions (fixation, smooth pursuit with stationary/moving items).

Related Experiment Videos

  • The effect of item proximity to the pursuit target was examined.

    • Main Results:

    • VSTM capacity for object position was significantly reduced during smooth pursuit compared to fixation.
    • This reduction was eliminated when items moved with the pursuit target or were presented on it.
    • VSTM capacity for color and general sensory memory showed minimal impairment during smooth pursuit.

    Conclusions:

    • Smooth pursuit eye movements impair VSTM for peripheral object position due to visuospatial attention being directed towards the tracked target.
    • The findings suggest that attention, not retinal image motion, is the primary factor affecting VSTM during smooth pursuit.