Can A Narrow Field of View Explain The Extremely Small Amount of Tactile Memory During Tactile Search for Change?

In previous studies, we have assessed the amount of information that can be maintained in working memory with a "search for change" task in both the visual and the somatosensory modality. We have reported a series of experiments that showed extremely limited amounts of tactile memory. Here, we tested the hypothesis that an extremely narrow field of view may explain our results. Using an eye movement contingent moving window system, an apparatus that actively narrows the visual field of view based on eye movements, we found that a narrow field view also dramatically reduced visual memory during active visual scanning. On the other hand, tactile search with both hands did not double the tactile memory compared to the search with one hand. These results indicate that the limited amounts of tactile memory observed previously can be attributed to a narrow field of view for one hand