An ideal observer analysis of visual working memory.

ABSTRACT: Limits in visual working memory (VWM) strongly constrain human performance across many tasks. However, the nature of these limits is not well understood. In this article we develop an ideal observer analysis of human VWM by deriving the expected behavior of an optimally performing but limited-capacity memory system. This analysis is framed around rate-distortion theory, a branch of information theory that provides optimal bounds on the accuracy of information transmission subject to a fixed information capacity. The result of the ideal observer analysis is a theoretical framework that provides a task-independent and quantitative definition of visual memory capacity and yields novel predictions regarding human performance. These predictions are subsequently evaluated and confirmed in 2 empi

SUBMITTER: Sims CR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3646905 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature