Geometry of visuospatial working memory information in miniature gaze patterns

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Neuroscience
• Visual Perception

Background:

• Eye movements are a potential confound in neural decoding of visual working memory.
• Understanding gaze patterns is crucial for accurate interpretation of neural data.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the information encoded in miniature gaze patterns during visual working memory.
• To analyze how representational format changes during memory maintenance, particularly under conditions of attentional withdrawal.

Main Methods:

• Combined eye-tracking with representational geometry analyses.
• Participants (n=41) maintained visual object orientations under cued conditions.
• Real-time feedback was used to discourage fixation breaks.

Main Results:

• Small gaze shifts (<1°) robustly encoded stimulus orientation.
• Evidence for simultaneous encoding of two sequentially presented orientations.
• Orientation encoding shifted from object-specific to object-independent during maintenance, especially when attention was withdrawn.
• Categorical reporting biases increased after unattended storage, with biased gaze geometries emerging during maintenance.

Conclusions:

• Gaze patterns contain significant information during visuospatial working memory.
• Representational formats systematically change during memory maintenance, particularly when stimuli are unattended.
• Eye movements offer a valuable window into the dynamics of working memory.