Contextual cueing and implicit learning

描述（由申请人提供）：本提案研究了一种强大的内隐视觉学习形式——情境线索（Chun & Jiang, 1998）。语境线索反映了内隐学习的视觉语境对注意的影响。在这个任务中，受试者在“L”中搜索“T”。当所有项目形成的空间布局偶尔重复时，重复显示中的搜索速度比新显示中的搜索速度快，这表明重复的上下文“提示”注意目标位置。上下文提示是(1)快速的，在4-5次重复后获得；(2)持久的，持续至少一周；(3)内隐的，不需要有意识的努力来学习。这一建议有四个具体目标。语境提示是自动的还是依赖于注意力的？为了找到答案，研究人员将要求受试者关注一部分项目，忽略其他项目，并测量被忽略重复的学习情况。2. 受试者是学习所有项目形成的整体空间布局，还是学习单个项目的位置？为此，我们将测量上下文线索是否转移到全局上下文或局部上下文被选择性中断的显示器上。3. 语境线索的个体差异程度有多大？这种差异的来源是什么？我们将测量一个人的线索效应与其他认知能力之间的相关性，比如数字广度、视觉短期记忆能力和中央执行功能。4. 共同的大脑区域是否在编码的基础上表现出重复和学习一致的联想？在这里，我们将使用功能磁共振成像来测量大脑中负责重复处理和联想学习的重要区域。这一建议具有直接的健康意义，因为与外显学习和记忆不同，内隐学习在许多患者群体、低智商人群、幼儿和老年人中都得到了很大程度的保留。情境暗示是一种强大的内隐学习形式。了解其认知和神经机制是了解正常成年人以及外显学习和记忆机制受损者这种能力的第一步。

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.