Abstract
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 2 |
| Number of pages | 7 |
| Journal | Journal of Vision |
| Volume | 9 |
| Issue number | 6 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 8 Jun 2009 |
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Keywords
- visual attention
- steady-state visual evoked potential
- feature selection
- color
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Color-selective attention need not be mediated by spatial attention. / Andersen, Søren K; Müller, Matthias M; Hillyard, Steven A.
In: Journal of Vision, Vol. 9, No. 6, 2, 08.06.2009.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Color-selective attention need not be mediated by spatial attention
AU - Andersen, Søren K
AU - Müller, Matthias M
AU - Hillyard, Steven A
PY - 2009/6/8
Y1 - 2009/6/8
N2 - It is well-established that attention can select stimuli for preferential processing on the basis of non-spatial features such as color, orientation, or direction of motion. Evidence is mixed, however, as to whether feature-selective attention acts by increasing the signal strength of to-be-attended features irrespective of their spatial locations or whether it acts by guiding the spotlight of spatial attention to locations containing the relevant feature. To address this question, we designed a task in which feature-selective attention could not be mediated by spatial selection. Participants observed a display of intermingled dots of two colors, which rapidly and unpredictably changed positions, with the task of detecting brief intervals of reduced luminance of 20% of the dots of one or the other color. Both behavioral indices and electrophysiological measures of steady-state visual evoked potentials showed selectively enhanced processing of the attended-color items. The results demonstrate that feature-selective attention produces a sensory gain enhancement at early levels of the visual cortex that occurs without mediation by spatial attention.
AB - It is well-established that attention can select stimuli for preferential processing on the basis of non-spatial features such as color, orientation, or direction of motion. Evidence is mixed, however, as to whether feature-selective attention acts by increasing the signal strength of to-be-attended features irrespective of their spatial locations or whether it acts by guiding the spotlight of spatial attention to locations containing the relevant feature. To address this question, we designed a task in which feature-selective attention could not be mediated by spatial selection. Participants observed a display of intermingled dots of two colors, which rapidly and unpredictably changed positions, with the task of detecting brief intervals of reduced luminance of 20% of the dots of one or the other color. Both behavioral indices and electrophysiological measures of steady-state visual evoked potentials showed selectively enhanced processing of the attended-color items. The results demonstrate that feature-selective attention produces a sensory gain enhancement at early levels of the visual cortex that occurs without mediation by spatial attention.
KW - visual attention
KW - steady-state visual evoked potential
KW - feature selection
KW - color
U2 - 10.1167/9.6.2
DO - 10.1167/9.6.2
M3 - Article
C2 - 19761293
VL - 9
JO - Journal of Vision
JF - Journal of Vision
SN - 1534-7362
IS - 6
M1 - 2
ER -