Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38291307›Full record

ArticleCognitive, affective & behavioral neuroscience2024

Investigating the effects of perceptual complexity versus conceptual meaning on the object benefit in visual working memory.

Alyssa M L Thibeault, Bobby Stojanoski, Stephen M Emrich

Abstract read
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Cognitive, affective & behavioral neuroscience, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
7citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

7 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Contributions from Long-Term Memory Explain Superior Visual Working Memory Performance with Meaningful Objects.The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience · 2026
    Article
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Article
  6. Article
  7. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors.

Alyssa M L ThibeaultDepartment of Psychology, Brock University, 1812 Sir Isaac Brock Way, St. Catharines, Ontario, L2S 3A1, Canada. wy20rd@brocku.ca.ORCID 0009-0002-6576-109X
Bobby StojanoskiFaculty of Social Science and Humanities, Ontario Tech University, 2000 Simcoe Street North, Oshawa, Ontario, L1G 0C5, Canada.
Stephen M EmrichDepartment of Psychology, Brock University, 1812 Sir Isaac Brock Way, St. Catharines, Ontario, L2S 3A1, Canada.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Previous research has demonstrated greater visual working memory (VWM) performance for real-world objects compared with simple features. Greater amplitudes of the contralateral delay activity (CDA)-a sustained event-related potential measured during the delay period of a VWM task-have also been noted for meaningful stimuli, despite being thought of as a neural marker of a fixed working memory capacity. The current study aimed to elucidate the factors underlying improved memory performance for real-world objects by isolating the relative contributions of perceptual complexity (i.e., number of visual features) and conceptual meaning (i.e., availability of semantic, meaningful features). Participants (N = 22) performed a lateralized VWM task to test their memory of intact real-world objects, scrambled real-world objects and colours. The CDA was measured during both encoding and WM retention intervals (600-1000 ms and 1300-1700 ms poststimulus onset, respectively), and behavioural performance was estimated by using d' (memory strength in a two-alternative forced choice task). Behavioural results revealed significantly better performance within-subjects for real-world objects relative to scrambled objects and colours, with no difference between colours and scrambled objects. The amplitude of the CDA was also largest for intact real-world objects, with no difference in magnitude for scrambled objects and colours, during working memory maintenance. However, during memory encoding, both the colours and intact real-world objects had significantly greater amplitudes than scrambled objects and were comparable in magnitude. Overall, findings suggest that conceptual meaning (semantics) supports the memory benefit for real-world objects.

Indexed as

Memory, Short-TermAdolescentAdultConcept FormationElectroencephalographyEvoked PotentialsFemaleFunctional LateralityHumansMalePattern Recognition, VisualPhotic StimulationReaction TimeVisual PerceptionYoung AdultConceptual meaningContralateral delay activityObject memory benefitPerceptual complexityVisual working memory

Identifiers

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.