Schedule of Events | Symposia

A novel eye-tracking paradigm reveals reduced vividness under combined visuospatial imagery and visual working memory requirements

Poster Session B - Sunday, March 30, 2025, 8:00 – 10:00 am EDT, Back Bay Ballroom/Republic Ballroom

Emaad Razzak¹, Tengyu Song¹, Elmina Aghayeva¹, Jiayi Wang¹, Tim Mousseau¹, Jacqueline Gottlieb¹, Alfredo Spagna¹; ¹Columbia University

Visual mental imagery (VMI) and visual working memory (VWM) are required in tasks involving visuospatial reasoning, yet their interaction remains unclear. We developed a delayed match-to-sample mental rotation task to examine their interaction. Typical imagers (VVIQ > 32) assessed whether two rotated stimuli at 0°, 60°, 120°, or 180° were identical. Expanding upon Shepard and Metzler’s 3D paradigm, stimuli were presented simultaneously or sequentially with a 1s delay. 2D analogs assessed spatial complexity. Metrics included accuracy, RTs, gaze patterns, pupillometry, and subjective ratings of vividness, confidence, and strategy, analyzed via repeated-measures ANOVAs. Accuracy decreased with larger angles, VWM demand, and 3D stimuli, with a steeper decline at larger angles in 3D trials (all p < 0.001). Vividness ratings declined with greater angles, VWM trials, and 3D objects (all p < 0.001)—more steeply under VWM demand (p < 0.01). RTs increased with larger angles and 3D objects (both p < 0.001). Pupillometry revealed larger pupils at greater angles (p < 0.01) and VWM conditions (p < 0.05) aligning with cognitive effort. Gaze tracking reveals inspection of empty first stimulus locations in VWM trials (p < 0.001), suggesting imagery-based memory reinstatement. Findings suggest VMI and VWM compete for cognitive resources. Interaction between VWM and angle on vividness suggests reduced capacity for vivid representations under combined demands. Pronounced decline in accuracy with larger angles for 3D trials highlights spatial complexity’s burden on mental imagery. Eye tracking supports imagery-based memory reinstatement. These insights underscore VMI and VWM’s competition of cognitive processing in visuospatial tasks.

Topic Area: EXECUTIVE PROCESSES: Working memory