Image Memorability Facilitates Visual Working Memory Formation: ERP Evidence

Human observers remember some images more reliably than others – a phenomenon often attributed to image memorability, a stimulus-driven property that predicts consistent memory outcomes across individuals. While memorability has been studied in the context of long-term memory, recent evidence suggests that it also shapes visual working memory (VWM), potentially enhancing how visual inputs are retained over short timescales. Yet, this apparent behavioral benefit could arise from differences in perceptual processing or stimulus comparison at test, rather than from processes specific to VWM. Behavioral measures alone cannot resolve this distinction, because performance in change-detection tasks is influenced by perceptual comparison and decision-related factors at test. To isolate when memorability influences VWM, we combined a lateralized change-detection task with time-resolved electrophysiological measures that index memory-related activity during the retention interval, independent of test-related processing. Participants remembered faces with high or low image memorability while scalp EEG was recorded. Behaviorally, we replicated the memorability benefit in VWM performance. Neurally, we examined contralateral delay activity (CDA) in posterior electrodes as an index of VWM retention. Memorability modulated CDA amplitude during the early phase of retention, before signal stabilization, with only weak or no reliable differences observed later in the delay period. Importantly, variation in early CDA amplitude directly predicted participants’ improved task performance. These findings suggest that image memorability strengthens the transformation of perceptual inputs into durable VWM representations before stable retention is established. Yet, this transient encoding-related advantage does not appear to significantly change the total amount of information maintained at a fixed set size. Thus, memorability likely shapes how VWM is formed, rather than how much is ultimately retained.