Decoding Trans-Saccadic Memory. 2018

Grace Edwards, and Rufin VanRullen, and Patrick Cavanagh
Center for Neuroscience and Cognitive Systems@UniTn, Istituto Italiano di Technologia, Corso Bettini 31 38068 Rovereto (TN), Italy, grace.edwards@iit.it.

We examine whether peripheral information at a planned saccade target affects immediate postsaccadic processing at the fovea on saccade landing. Current neuroimaging research suggests that presaccadic stimulation has a late effect on postsaccadic processing, in contrast to the early effect seen in behavioral studies. Human participants (both male and female) were instructed to saccade toward a face or a house that, on different trials, remained the same, changed, or disappeared during the saccade. We used a multivariate pattern analysis of electroencephalography data to decode face versus house processing directly after the saccade. The classifier was trained on separate trials without a saccade, where a house or face was presented at the fovea. When the saccade target remained the same across the saccade, we could reliably decode the target 123 ms after saccade offset. In contrast, when the target was changed during the saccade, the new target was decoded at a later time-point, 151 ms after saccade offset. The "same" condition advantage suggests that congruent presaccadic information facilitates processing of the postsaccadic stimulus compared with incongruent information. Finally, the saccade target could be decoded above chance even when it had been removed during the saccade, albeit with a slower time course (162 ms) and poorer signal strength. These findings indicate that information about the (peripheral) presaccadic stimulus is transferred across the saccade so that it becomes quickly available and influences processing at its expected new retinal position (the fovea).SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Here we provide neural evidence for early information transfer across saccades. Specifically, we examined the effect of presaccadic sensory information on the initial neuronal processing of a postsaccadic stimuli. Using electroencephalography and multivariate pattern analysis, we found the following: (1) that the identity of the presaccadic stimulus modulated the postsaccadic latency of stimulus relevant information; and (2) that a saccadic neural marker for a saccade target stimulus could be detected even when the stimulus had been removed during saccade. These results demonstrate that information about the peripheral presaccadic stimulus was transferred across the saccade and influenced processing at a new retinal position (the fovea) directly after the saccade landed.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D008297 Male Males
D008568 Memory Complex mental function having four distinct phases: (1) memorizing or learning, (2) retention, (3) recall, and (4) recognition. Clinically, it is usually subdivided into immediate, recent, and remote memory.
D010775 Photic Stimulation Investigative technique commonly used during ELECTROENCEPHALOGRAPHY in which a series of bright light flashes or visual patterns are used to elicit brain activity. Stimulation, Photic,Visual Stimulation,Photic Stimulations,Stimulation, Visual,Stimulations, Photic,Stimulations, Visual,Visual Stimulations
D012160 Retina The ten-layered nervous tissue membrane of the eye. It is continuous with the OPTIC NERVE and receives images of external objects and transmits visual impulses to the brain. Its outer surface is in contact with the CHOROID and the inner surface with the VITREOUS BODY. The outer-most layer is pigmented, whereas the inner nine layers are transparent. Ora Serrata
D004569 Electroencephalography Recording of electric currents developed in the brain by means of electrodes applied to the scalp, to the surface of the brain, or placed within the substance of the brain. EEG,Electroencephalogram,Electroencephalograms
D005145 Face The anterior portion of the head that includes the skin, muscles, and structures of the forehead, eyes, nose, mouth, cheeks, and jaw. Faces
D005260 Female Females
D005403 Fixation, Ocular Positioning and accommodation of eyes that allows the image to be brought into place on the FOVEA CENTRALIS of each eye. Focusing, Ocular,Ocular Fixation,Eye Gaze,Eye Gazes,Gaze, Eye,Gazes, Eye,Ocular Focusing
D006801 Humans Members of the species Homo sapiens. Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D000328 Adult A person having attained full growth or maturity. Adults are of 19 through 44 years of age. For a person between 19 and 24 years of age, YOUNG ADULT is available. Adults

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