Vision and memory are two of the most intensively studied topics in psychology and neuroscience, and the intersection between them — visual memory — is emerging as a fertile ground for research. Certain memory systems appear to specialize in maintaining visually encoded information. Vision provides the primary input to more general memory systems. These more general systems link and integrate visual memory with other perceptual and cognitive processes. As a result, visual perception cannot be understood independently of visual memories, which support the mapping of perceptual input onto existi ... More

Vision and memory are two of the most intensively studied topics in psychology and neuroscience, and the intersection between them — visual memory — is emerging as a fertile ground for research. Certain memory systems appear to specialize in maintaining visually encoded information. Vision provides the primary input to more general memory systems. These more general systems link and integrate visual memory with other perceptual and cognitive processes. As a result, visual perception cannot be understood independently of visual memories, which support the mapping of perceptual input onto existing knowledge structures that guide and constrain perceptual selection. This book provides an account of visual memory systems. The chapters provide both a broad overview of each topic and a summary of the latest research. They also present new perspectives that advance our theoretical understanding of visual memory and suggest directions for future research. After an introductory overview by the editors, chapters address visual sensory memory (iconic memory), visual short-term memory, and the relationship between visual memory and eye movements. Visual long-term memory is then reviewed from several different perspectives, including memory for natural scenes, the relationship between visual memory and object recognition, and associative learning. The final chapters discuss the neural mechanisms of visual memory and neuropsychological deficits in visual memory.