Building visual representations: The binding of relative spatial relations across time

Abstract

In this study, the construction of, and subsequent access to, representations regarding the relative spatial and temporal relations among sequentially presented objects was examined using eye movement monitoring. Participants were presented with a series of single objects. Subsequently, a test display revealed all three objects simultaneously and participants judged whether the relative relations were maintained. Eye movements revealed the binding of relations across study images; eye movements transitioned between the location of the presented object and the locations that were previously occupied by objects in prior study images. For the test displays, changes in the relative relations were accurately detected. Eye movements distinguished intact displays from those in which the relations had been altered. Order of fixations to objects in test images mimicked the temporal order in which objects had been studied, but disruption of temporal order was observed for manipulated images. The present findings suggest that memory representations regarding the visual world include information about the relative spatial and temporal relations among objects. Eye movements may be the conduit by which information is integrated into a lasting representation, and by which current information is compared to stored representations.

Keywords:

• Binding
• Visual memory
• Eye movements
• Spatial relations
• Temporal relations

Acknowledgements

We wish to thank Noah Ivers and Grace Leung for their assistance. Funding was provided by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) and the Canada Research Chairs Program.

Notes

¹Here, we take memory to refer either to the contents of a shorter or longer term store as both may contribute to changes in eye movement scanning behaviour (Brockmole & Irwin, 2005; Ryan & Cohen, 2004).