視覚特徴の組み合わせと反応のマッピング記憶の長期保持

In daily life, we learn a variety of associations between combinations of visual features of objects and appropriate responses, enabling us to act on the basis of these associations. Complex associations between visual input and movement are known as "visuomotor mappings." According to the paired-attribute model, an integration of features of more than three attributes is represented as an assembly of multiple bindings of two features (attribute pairs) and connected to the response in memory. Experimental studies have shown that the model works for the process of learning mappings and retaining them immediately afterward, but no experiments have tested the models applicability to long-term retention. The present study investigated the long-term retention of mappings between integrations of features and responses. Participants were required to learn the correspondences between eight items that were different from each other in color, shape, or location and four responses. Participants were tested immediately after learning. When tested again after 1 week, participants could respond as accurately and quickly as they did immediately after learning. Moreover, participants performed better when two features of items instructed correct responses than when three features instructed correct responses. Results reveal long-term retention of mappings between integrations of features and responses and suggest that the paired-attribute model is applicable to long-term retention of mappings.