A residual memory trace in an accumulator explains serial dependence

Abstract

Human perception is not a series of isolated snapshots; our recent past continuously shapes what we currently see, a phenomenon known as serial dependence. While convolutional neural networks (CNNs) excel as models of vision, they are typically static and fail to capture such dynamic, history-dependent effects. Here, we introduce SDNet, a model that explains how serial dependence arises from the mechanics of decision-making. SDNet integrates a standard CNN with a recurrent network that functions as a sequential evidence accumulator. We hypothesize that this bias is not a flaw or a feature for optimality, but a natural byproduct of the accumulator retaining a residual memory trace of past decisions. Without being directly fit to behavioral data, SDNet spontaneously reproduces the characteristic patterns of serial dependence from human orientation and numerosity judgment tasks. The model even captures a key feature of human perception: that the bias grows stronger as task difficulty increases. This work provides a concrete, neurally plausible mechanism for serial dependence, challenging theories that frame it as a purely optimal strategy. By showing how a fundamental perceptual bias emerges from an intrinsic property of a dynamic system, SDNet represents a significant advance in building more biologically realistic models of human vision.