Humans can efficiently look for but not select multiple visual objects

Eduard Ort

doi:10.7554/eLife.49130

Humans can efficiently look for but not select multiple visual objects

2019-08-27

25

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Eduard Ort *

J

Johannes J. Fahrenfort

Christian N. L. Olivers

DOI：10.7554/eLife.49130

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Abstract

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The human brain recurrently prioritizes task-relevant over task-irrelevant visual information. A central question is whether multiple objects can be prioritized simultaneously. To answer this, we let observers search for two colored targets among distractors. Crucially, we independently varied the number of target colors that observers anticipated, and the number of target colors actually used to distinguish the targets in the display. This enabled us to dissociate the preparation of selection mechanisms from the actual engagement of such mechanisms. Multivariate classification of electroencephalographic activity allowed us to track selection of each target separately across time. The results revealed only small neural and behavioral costs associated with preparing for selecting two objects, but substantial costs when engaging in selection. Further analyses suggest this cost is the consequence of neural competition resulting in limited parallel processing, rather than a serial bottleneck. The findings bridge diverging theoretical perspectives on capacity limitations of feature-based attention.

Keywords:

WORKING-MEMORY

SINGLE-COLOR

ATTENTIONAL TEMPLATES

NEURAL MECHANISMS

GLOBAL WORKSPACE

TARGET SELECTION

SEARCH

GUIDANCE

MODEL

COMPETITION

Humans can efficiently look for but not select multiple visual objects

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