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Poster B23 in Poster Session B - Thursday, August 8, 2024, 1:30 – 3:30 pm, Johnson Ice Rink

(Eye-)Tracking of Task-dependent Representational Dynamics in Working Memory

Dilara Zorbek1, Stefan Appelhoff1, Bernhard Spitzer1; 1Research Group Adaptive Memory and Decision Making, Max Planck Institute for Human Development

Working memory (WM) can represent information in a variety of formats, with different formats being arguably more suitable for efficient problem-solving in different situations. How adaptive transformations from one format (e.g., sensory) into another (e.g., task-oriented) proceed dynamically in time remains subject to investigation. Here, we build on recent findings that visual WM information can be reflected in miniature gaze patterns, the precise format (geometry) of which may change over time. While maintaining the orientation of physically identical visual stimuli in WM, we retro-cued participants to use orthogonal task rules in delayed comparison against a probe. Using representational geometry analyses, we replicated recent findings that stimulus orientation was reflected in miniature gaze shifts during the WM delay. Moreover, we observed systematic changes in the stimulus-dependent gaze patterns in response to the task cue, suggesting an adaptive reformatting into task-oriented coordinates, which can be tracked in the time-evolving geometry of micro-saccadic activity.

Keywords: working memory geometry analysis representational dynamics eye-tracking 

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