Contextual cueing and implicit learning

描述(由申请者提供)：这项建议调查了一种强大的内隐视觉学习形式--语境线索(Chun&酱，1998)。语境线索通过内隐学习的视觉语境反映了注意的影响。在这项任务中，被试在“L”S中寻找一个“T”。当所有项目形成的空间布局偶尔重复时，在重复的展示中的搜索速度比在新的展示中的快，这表明重复的语境“提示”注意到目标位置。语境线索是(1)快速的，在4-5次重复后获得的；(2)持久的，持续至少一周的；(3)内隐的，不需要有意识的努力来学习。这项提议有四个具体目标。1.背景线索是自动的还是依赖于注意力的？为了找出答案，受试者将被要求注意一部分条目，忽略其他条目，并测量对被忽略重复的学习。2.被试是学习所有物品的整体空间布局，还是学习个别物品的位置？为此，我们将测量语境线索是否转移到其全局语境或局部语境被选择性干扰的显示器。3.个体在语境线索上的变异程度如何？这种变异的来源是什么？我们将测量个体的线索效应与其他认知能力之间的相关性，如数字广度、视觉短期记忆能力和中央执行功能。4.共同的大脑区域是编码重复显示和学习一致联想的基础吗？在这里，我们将使用功能磁共振成像来测量大脑中对重复处理和联想学习重要的区域。这一建议具有直接的健康影响，因为与外显学习和记忆不同，内隐学习在许多患者群体中基本上得到保留，在智商低的人中，在小孩子和老年人中也是如此。情境暗示是一种强大的内隐学习形式。了解它的认知和神经机制是了解正常成年人以及那些显性学习和记忆机制受损的人这种能力的第一步。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This proposal investigates a powerful form of implicit visual learning - contextual cueing (Chun & Jiang, 1998). Contextual cueing reflects the influence of attention by implicitly-learned visual context. In this task, subjects search for a "T" among "L"s. When the spatial layout formed by all items repeats occasionally, search is faster among the repeated displays than among the new ones, suggesting that the repeated context "cues" attention to the target position. Contextual cueing is (1) fast, acquired after 4-5 repetitions, (2) long-lasting, persisting for at least a week, and (3) implicit, requiring no conscious effort to learn. This proposal has four specific Aims. 1. Is contextual cueing automatic or attention-dependent? To find out, subjects will be asked to attend to a subset of items and ignore the others and learning of the ignored repetition will be measured. 2. Do subjects learn the global spatial layout formed by all items or do they learn the individual item locations? To this end, we will measure whether contextual cueing transfers to displays whose global context or local context is selectively disrupted. 3. What is the extent of individual variabilities in contextual cueing and what is the source of such variation? We will measure the correlation between an individual's cueing effect and other cognitive abilities, such as digit-span, visual short-term memory capacity, and central executive function. 4. Do common brain regions underlie encoding display repetitions and learning of a consistent association? Here, we will use fMRI to measure brain regions important for repetition processing and those for associative learning. This proposal has direct health implications because unlike explicit learning and memory, implicit learning is largely preserved in many patient groups, in people with low IQ, and in small children and older adults. Contextual cueing is a powerful form of implicit learning. Understanding its cognitive and neural mechanisms is the first step toward understanding this ability in normal adults as well as in those whose explicit learning and memory mechanisms are impaired.