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Attention facilitates multiple stimulus features in parallel in human visual cortex

delete2008-07-01
delete140
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‪Søren K. Andersen
S
Steven A. Hillyard
M
Matthias M. Müller *
DOI:10.1016/j.cub.2008.06.030delete
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Abstract

Abstract

En 中文
Successfully locating a dangerous or desirable object within a cluttered visual scene is a commonplace yet highly adaptive skill. In the laboratory, this ability is modeled by visual search experiments in which subjects try to find a target item surrounded by an array of distracting stimuli [1, 2]. Under certain conditions, targets that are distinguishable from distractors by virtue of having a particular combination of shared sensory features (e.g., a particular color and orientation) can be found rapidly regardless of the number of distractors [3, 4]. To explain this highly efficient localization of feature-conjunction targets, guided search theories [4-6] propose that attention is directed in parallel to the individual features that define the target, which then stands out from the distractors; because of additive facilitation of its feature signals. Here we recorded frequency-tagged potentials evoked in human visual cortex and found that color and orientation features of target stimuli are indeed facilitated by attention in a parallel and additive manner. This additive feature-enhancement mechanism, reported here for the first time, not only enables rapid guided search but also plays a broader role in directing and sustaining attention to multi-feature objects and keeping them perceptually distinct from background clutter.
Keywords:
MACAQUE AREA V4
NEURAL MECHANISMS
GUIDED SEARCH
MODEL
RESPONSES
GAIN
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Current Biology
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Leipzig University
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University of California System
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