Flexible gaze reinstatement during working memory for natural scenes

Working memory (WM) representations may be more action-oriented and anatomically widespread than previously assumed. For instance, oculomotor signatures like gaze biases can reflect spatial WM content. However, the specificity and functional relevance of such signatures is unclear. Here, we tracked eye gaze during WM for naturalistic images, and manipulated which image features were most task-relevant (visual or semantic). In two experiments, we found that the eyes carried out item-specific spatiotemporal gaze sequences during WM maintenance, retracing the scanpath from stimulus encoding. Therefore, gaze patterns during WM track the identity of complex, natural images held in mind. Moreover, the degree of such WM gaze reinstatement was stronger when the task prioritized visual detail, and ramped up in anticipation of the test probe. Oculomotor WM signals are therefore malleable to when and how the content will be used, indicating that distributed WM representations are prospectively-oriented and functionally flexible to situational needs.