Dataset Information

Pupil Dilation Reflects Task Relevance Prior to Search.

ABSTRACT: When observers search for a specific target, it is assumed that they activate a representation of the task relevant object in visual working memory (VWM). This representation - often referred to as the template - guides attention towards matching visual input. In two experiments we tested whether the pupil response can be used to differentiate stimuli that match the task-relevant template from irrelevant input. Observers memorized a target color to be searched for in a multi-color visual search display, presented after a delay period. In Experiment 1, one color appeared at the start of the trial, which was then automatically the search template. In Experiments 2, two colors were presented, and a retro-cue indicated which of these was relevant for the upcoming search task. Crucially, before the search display appeared, we briefly presented one colored probe stimulus. The probe could match either the relevant-template color, the non-cued color (irrelevant), or be a new color not presented in the trial. We measured the pupil response to the probe as a signature of task relevance. Experiment 1 showed significantly smaller pupil size in response to probes matching the search template than for irrelevant colors. Experiment 2 replicated the template matching effect and allowed us to rule out that it was solely due to repetition priming. Taken together, we show that the pupil responds selectively to participants' target template prior to search.

SUBMITTER: Olmos-Solis K

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6634601 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Pupil Dilation Reflects Task Relevance Prior to Search.

Olmos-Solis Katya K van Loon Anouk M AM Olivers Christian N L CNL

Journal of cognition 20180126 1

When observers search for a specific target, it is assumed that they activate a representation of the task relevant object in visual working memory (VWM). This representation - often referred to as the template - guides attention towards matching visual input. In two experiments we tested whether the pupil response can be used to differentiate stimuli that match the task-relevant template from irrelevant input. Observers memorized a target color to be searched for in a multi-color visual search ...[more]

PMID: 31517185

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Project description:ObjectivesThe listening demand incurred by speech perception fluctuates in normal conversation. At the acoustic-phonetic level, natural variation in pronunciation acts as speedbumps to accurate lexical selection. Any given utterance may be more or less phonetically ambiguous-a problem that must be resolved by the listener to choose the correct word. This becomes especially apparent when considering two common speech registers-clear and casual-that have characteristically different levels of phonetic ambiguity. Clear speech prioritizes intelligibility through hyperarticulation which results in less ambiguity at the phonetic level, while casual speech tends to have a more collapsed acoustic space. We hypothesized that listeners would invest greater cognitive resources while listening to casual speech to resolve the increased amount of phonetic ambiguity, as compared with clear speech. To this end, we used pupillometry as an online measure of listening effort during perception of clear and casual continuous speech in two background conditions: quiet and noise.DesignForty-eight participants performed a probe detection task while listening to spoken, nonsensical sentences (masked and unmasked) while recording pupil size. Pupil size was modeled using growth curve analysis to capture the dynamics of the pupil response as the sentence unfolded.ResultsPupil size during listening was sensitive to the presence of noise and speech register (clear/casual). Unsurprisingly, listeners had overall larger pupil dilations during speech perception in noise, replicating earlier work. The pupil dilation pattern for clear and casual sentences was considerably more complex. Pupil dilation during clear speech trials was slightly larger than for casual speech, across quiet and noisy backgrounds.ConclusionsWe suggest that listener motivation could explain the larger pupil dilations to clearly spoken speech. We propose that, bounded by the context of this task, listeners devoted more resources to perceiving the speech signal with the greatest acoustic/phonetic fidelity. Further, we unexpectedly found systematic differences in pupil dilation preceding the onset of the spoken sentences. Together, these data demonstrate that the pupillary system is not merely reactive but also adaptive-sensitive to both task structure and listener motivation to maximize accurate perception in a limited resource system.

Dataset Information

Pupil Dilation Reflects Task Relevance Prior to Search.

Publications

Pupil Dilation Reflects Task Relevance Prior to Search.

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