Search

Research on memory and language has been historically studied to understand the role of verbal memory in language. But it is far from clear how visual memory is involved in acquiring knowledge and language. In this review, we focus on the visuospatial sketchpad from the working memory model, which explains the perception and storage of visual representations to process language. It is significant from the light of findings that verbal memory is necessary for language; similarly, visual memory is also crucial in the processing and comprehension of language. To this point, we review the analysis of dual-coding theory, which suggests that verbal and visual memory are equally crucial for language processing. Further, the visual memory turns into visual or mental imagery that acts as an offline perception in the absence of sensory input. For people with aphantasia, this mental imagery is absent or impaired, leading to difficulties in language comprehension. Therefore, studying the importance of visual memory and mental imagery in language processing is necessary. Taken together, the present paper provides a broad-spectrum understanding of the mind's eye that develops and comprehends the information with mental imageries. The article explains the biological pathway of visual representations in the visual cortex, forming visual memory and mental imageries that eventually help in learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Deficits in social communication are one of the behavioral signatures of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Because faces are arguably the most important social stimuli that we encounter in everyday life, investigating the ability of individuals with ASD to process faces is thought to be important for understanding the nature of ASD. However, although a considerable body of evidence suggests that ASD individuals show specific impairments in face processing, a significant number of studies argue otherwise. Through a literature review, we found that this controversy is largely attributable to the different face tests used across different studies. Therefore, a more reliable and valid face test is needed. To this end, we performed a meta-analysis on data gleaned from a variety of face tests conducted on individuals with developmental prosopagnosia (DP) who suffer a selective deficit in face processing. Based on this meta-analysis, we selected an old/new face recognition test that relies on face memory as a standard diagnostic test for measuring specific face processing deficits. This test not only reliably reflects DP individuals' subjective experiences with faces in their daily lives, but also effectively differentiates deficits in face processing from deficits caused by other general problems. In addition, DP individuals' performance in this test predicts their performance in a variety of face tests that examine specific components of face processing (e.g., holistic processing of faces). Finally, this test can be easily administrated and is not overly sensitive to prior knowledge. In summary, this test can be used to evaluate face-processing ability, and it helped to resolve the controversy whether individuals with ASD exhibit face-processing deficits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The term covert recognition refers to recognition without awareness. In the context of face recognition, it refers to the fact that some individuals show behavioural, electrophysiological or autonomic indices of recognition in the absence of overt, conscious recognition. Originally described in cases of people that have lost their ability to overtly recognize faces (acquired prosopagnosia, AP), covert face recognition has more recently also been described in cases of congenital prosopagnosia (CP), who never develop typical overt face recognition skills. The presence of covert processing in a developmental disorder such as CP is a particularly intriguing phenomenon, and its investigation is relevant for a variety of reasons. From a theoretical point of view, it is useful to help shed light on the cognitive and neural underpinnings of face recognition deficits. From a clinical point of view, it has the potential to aid the design of rehabilitation protocols aimed at improving face recognition skills in this population. In the current review we selectively summarize the recent literature on covert face recognition in CP, highlight its main findings, and provide a theoretical interpretation for them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]