Do Visual Details Drive Memory? Role of the Visuo-Spatial Frequencies in Mnemonic Discrimination

Memory is a dynamic reconstruction process, emphasizing the importance of assessing not only that an event occurred but also its details (i.e., memory accuracy). Recent studies have suggested that reconstructing accurate memories requires discriminating overlapping memory traces, a process known as pattern separation (PS). PS is typically studied through tasks involving the discrimination of visual lures, highlighting the contribution of visual processes to PS. Two main types of visual processing should be considered (high spatial frequencies [HSF]; and low spatial frequencies [LSF]), and it remains unclear whether these processes contribute equally to the discrimination of visual lures. This preregistered study examined the impact of spatial frequencies on mnemonic discrimination using a mnemonic similarity task. We hypothesized that HSF, which process the fine analysis of information, would be more involved than LSF, which process the coarse analysis of information, in discriminating targets from similar lures. Forty young participants had to recognize visual stimuli under three spatial frequency conditions: LSF images, HSF images, and a no-filter (NF) condition. The results showed that the lure discrimination index was lower for the LSF images than for the NF condition. LSF images also resulted in fewer false recognitions of lures and more target misses compared to HSF images and the NF condition. These results suggest that HSF support mnemonic discrimination more than LSF but also contribute more broadly to the overall richness of memory traces. This study contributes to theoretical models of memory by highlighting the importance of rich visual information for accurate memory.