What we perceive at any moment is not a direct snapshot of the external world. Rather, perception is shaped by incoming sensory input and filtered through prior experience. For example, in medical image analysis, a doctor may misidentify—or miss—a detail because earlier images biased their expectations. While it has long been recognized that perception involves inference based on memory, scientific research has often treated perception and memory as separate processes. This project set out to bridge that gap by investigating how different forms of memory shape what we perceive in the present.
The research focused on serial dependence, a phenomenon where recent visual experiences systematically bias current perception. The project aimed to identify what determines whether these biases are “attractive” (pulling perception toward the past) or “repulsive” (pushing it away), to understand the timescales of these effects, and to reveal the brain mechanisms involved.
Several important findings emerged. First, the project uncovered stable individual differences in serial dependence: some people consistently showed attractive biases, others repulsive ones. This suggests that serial dependence reflects a trait-like cognitive strategy, not just situational noise. Second, the research demonstrated that longer-term memories held in working memory can override short-term perceptual history, indicating that the brain flexibly prioritizes different sources of information depending on task demands. Third, the findings showed a temporal dissociation: recent history shapes objective discrimination, while more distant experience influences subjective visibility. Finally, the project revealed that even non-conscious experiences can support long-term learning and prediction, suggesting that perceptual continuity relies on both conscious and non-conscious memory systems.
Together, these results advance the understanding of how perception and memory interact. They show that multiple memory systems—short- and long-term, conscious and non-conscious—jointly shape perceptual experience. These insights lay the groundwork for a more integrated understanding of perception in both healthy and clinical populations.
