Inhibition of pupillary orienting reflex by heteromodal novelty

Abstract

When recognition memory is well formed, pupillary orienting reflex to novel auditory stimulus items is inhibited. Instead, pupillary dilation occurs to familiar stimulus items provided the task is relatively difficult. The relation between orienting reflex and recognition memory is interpreted in terms of negative induction arising from the direction of the reflex in the context of Pavlov’s theory. © 1974, The Psychonomic Society, Inc.. All rights reserved.