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Related Concept Videos

Encoding01:19

Encoding

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Information enters the brain through encoding, which is the input of information into the memory system. Once sensory information is received from the environment, the brain labels or codes it. The information is then organized with similar information and connected to existing concepts. Encoding occurs through automatic processing and effortful processing.
Automatic processing involves the encoding of details like time, space, frequency, and the meaning of words, usually done without conscious...
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Working Memory01:24

Working Memory

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Working memory refers to a combination of components, including short-term memory and attention, that allow an individual to hold information temporarily as we perform cognitive tasks. It is an essential cognitive function that enables the execution of complex tasks such as problem-solving, comprehension, and reasoning. Unlike short-term memory, which simply involves the storage of information for a brief period, working memory involves the active manipulation and processing of this...
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Chunking and Rehearsal in Sensory Memory01:22

Chunking and Rehearsal in Sensory Memory

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Improving short-term memory can be achieved through techniques like chunking and rehearsal. Chunking involves organizing information into larger, more manageable units. This technique is particularly useful for information that exceeds the typical memory span of between five and nine items. For instance, logging into an online account with a password like "ta89vq0179gz" involves grouping letters and numbers into three chunks—ta89, vq01, and 79gz. It makes large amounts of...
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Sensory Memory01:14

Sensory Memory

354
Sensory memory captures information from the environment in its original form for a very brief duration, just long enough to be exposed to visual, auditory, and other senses. This type of memory is detailed and rich but quickly lost unless certain strategies are employed to transfer it into short-term or long-term memory. Sensory information is continuously bombarding the human brain, yet only a small fraction is absorbed, as most of it does not significantly impact daily life. For instance,...
354
Visual Agnosia01:12

Visual Agnosia

465
Visual agnosia is a condition characterized by the inability to recognize visually presented objects despite having normal vision. For instance, a person with visual agnosia can describe the shape and color of an object but cannot identify or name it. This impairment does not affect their visual field, acuity, color vision, brightness discrimination, language, or memory. An example of this condition in a social setting is someone at a dinner party asking for "that silver thing with a round...
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Visual System01:26

Visual System

925
Light enters the eye through the cornea, a transparent, dome-shaped surface covering the surface of the eyeball that helps to direct and focus incoming light. This light is then channeled toward the pupil, an adjustable opening whose size is controlled by the iris. The iris, a pigmented muscle, regulates the amount of light entering the eye by contracting or dilating the pupil, thereby ensuring optimal light levels for clear vision.
Once through the pupil, the light passes through the lens, a...
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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Oct 18, 2025

Assessing Working Memory in Children: The Comprehensive Assessment Battery for Children – Working Memory (CABC-WM)
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Object-based encoding in visual working memory: A critical revisit.

Quan Gu1, Alessandro Dai1, Tian Ye1

  • 1Department of Psychology and Behavioral Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, P.R. China.

Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology (2006)
|October 5, 2021
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Visual working memory (VWM) involuntarily stores task-irrelevant object features, supporting the VWM storage hypothesis over fragile VWM (FVWM). This indicates robust object-based encoding (OBE) in VWM.

Keywords:
Task-irrelevant featurefragile visual working memoryobject-based encodingvisual working memory

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Area of Science:

  • Cognitive Neuroscience
  • Psychology

Background:

  • Visual working memory (VWM) retains and manipulates visual information.
  • Object-based encoding (OBE) suggests task-irrelevant features are involuntarily extracted into VWM.
  • Fragile VWM (FVWM) proposes maskable sensory representations.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To differentiate between VWM storage and FVWM storage hypotheses.
  • To investigate the nature of task-irrelevant feature storage in VWM.

Main Methods:

  • Participants memorized orientations of colored bars while ignoring colors.
  • Backward masks were presented during the VWM maintenance interval.
  • Experiments compared OBE with and without backward masking.

Main Results:

  • Object-based encoding (OBE) persisted despite backward mask presentation.
  • OBE was only interrupted when task-relevant features were significantly affected by immediate masks.
  • Task-irrelevant features appear to be stored in VWM, not FVWM.

Conclusions:

  • Findings support the VWM storage hypothesis.
  • Task-irrelevant features are robustly stored in VWM via object-based encoding.
  • Fragile VWM (FVWM) is less likely to explain the storage of task-irrelevant features.