Beyond the Lens: Eye Movements as a Window into Pattern Separation
| dc.contributor.author | Leyden, Olivia | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2025-05-07T14:42:39Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2025-05-07T14:42:39Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2025 | |
| dc.description.abstract | In this study, we were interested in how attention modulation influences pattern separation – the process by which similar items or events are distinguished in memory. We measured pattern separation in terms of ‘gaze similarity’, the degree to which an individual’s eye movement patterns differ across objects. Decreased gaze similarity between similar objects suggests increased pattern separation, as it reflects the encoding or identification of distinct, diagnostic features. In the current study, we tracked participants’ eye movements as they viewed images of individual objects belonging to one of two categories. Participants performed an indoor/outdoor judgment task on these objects. To manipulate attention, participants were instructed to perform an additional counting task that increased pattern separation demand for one of the categories, resulting in a “Relevant” and “Irrelevant” category. Baseline conditions with varying demands were included to assess if pattern separation increases for Relevant objects, decreases for Irrelevant objects, or both, as a function of attention modulation. We found that our attention manipulation both increased pattern separation for the Relevant objects and decreased for Irrelevant objects. These findings suggest that attention, and task demands, play an important role in the extent to which items are stored in memory distinctly. | |
| dc.description.reviewstatus | Reviewed | |
| dc.description.scholarlevel | Undergraduate | |
| dc.description.sponsorship | Jamie Cassels Undergraduate Research Awards (JCURA) | |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://hdl.handle.net/1828/22158 | |
| dc.publisher | University Of Victoria | |
| dc.subject | memory | |
| dc.subject | attention | |
| dc.subject | pattern separation | |
| dc.subject | eye movements | |
| dc.subject | gaze similarity | |
| dc.title | Beyond the Lens: Eye Movements as a Window into Pattern Separation | |
| dc.type | Poster |