scholarly journals Object-Based Attention is Impervious to Nearby Targets During Visual Search

2012 ◽  
Vol 12 (9) ◽  
pp. 1156-1156
Author(s):  
A. Greenberg ◽  
M. Rosen ◽  
K. Zamora ◽  
E. Cutrone ◽  
M. Behrmann
Keyword(s):  
Visual Search ◽  
Object Based

scholarly journals Object-based Selection of Irrelevant Features Is Not Confined to the Attended Object

2011 ◽  
Vol 23 (9) ◽  
pp. 2231-2239 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carsten N. Boehler ◽  
Mircea A. Schoenfeld ◽  
Hans-Jochen Heinze ◽  
Jens-Max Hopf
Keyword(s):  
Visual Search ◽  
Visual Field ◽  
Target Object ◽  
Neural Processing ◽  
Irrelevant Feature ◽  
Distractor Object ◽  
Object Based ◽  
Irrelevant Color ◽  
Task Irrelevant ◽  
Selection Of

Attention to one feature of an object can bias the processing of unattended features of that object. Here we demonstrate with ERPs in visual search that this object-based bias for an irrelevant feature also appears in an unattended object when it shares that feature with the target object. Specifically, we show that the ERP response elicited by a distractor object in one visual field is modulated as a function of whether a task-irrelevant color of that distractor is also present in the target object that is presented in the opposite visual field. Importantly, we find this modulation to arise with a delay of approximately 80 msec relative to the N2pc—a component of the ERP response that reflects the focusing of attention onto the target. In a second experiment, we demonstrate that this modulation reflects enhanced neural processing in the unattended object. These observations together facilitate the surprising conclusion that the object-based selection of irrelevant features is spatially global even after attention has selected the target object.

A model of active visual search with object-based attention guiding scan paths

2004 ◽  
Vol 17 (5-6) ◽  
pp. 873-897 ◽  
Author(s):  
Linda J. Lanyon ◽  
Susan L. Denham
Keyword(s):  
Visual Search ◽  
Object Based ◽  
Scan Paths

scholarly journals Pupil Size Reflects Exploration and Exploitation in Visual Search (and It’s Like Object-Based Attention)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Franziska Regnath ◽  
Sebastiaan Mathôt
Keyword(s):  
Visual Search ◽  
Eye Movements ◽  
Locus Coeruleus ◽  
Pupil Size ◽  
Search Task ◽  
Focused Attention ◽  
Exploration And Exploitation ◽  
Object Based ◽  
Exploration Behavior ◽  
Frequent Switching

AbstractThe adaptive gain theory (AGT) posits that activity in the locus coeruleus (LC) is linked to two behavioral modes: exploitation, characterized by focused attention on a single task; and exploration, characterized by a lack of focused attention and frequent switching between tasks. Furthermore, pupil size correlates with LC activity, such that large pupils indicate increased LC firing, and by extension also exploration behavior. Most evidence for this correlation in humans comes from complex behavior in game-like tasks. However, predictions of the AGT naturally extend to a very basic form of behavior: eye movements. To test this, we used a visual-search task. Participants searched for a target among many distractors, while we measured their pupil diameter and eye movements. The display was divided into four randomly generated regions of different colors. Although these regions were irrelevant to the task, participants were sensitive to their boundaries, and dwelled within regions for longer than expected by chance. Crucially, pupil size increased before eye movements that carried gaze from one region to another. We propose that eye movements that stay within regions (or objects) correspond to exploitation behavior, whereas eye movements that switch between regions (or objects) correspond to exploration behavior.Public Significance StatementWhen people experience increased arousal, their pupils dilate. The adaptive-gain theory proposes that pupil size reflects neural activity in the locus coeruleus (LC), which in turn is associated with two behavioral modes: a vigilant, distractible mode (“exploration”), and a calm, focused mode (“exploitation”). During exploration, pupils are larger and LC activity is higher than during exploitation. Here we show that the predictions of this theory generalize to eye movements: smaller pupils coincide with eye movements indicative of exploitation, while pupils slightly dilate just before make eye movements that are indicative of exploration.

scholarly journals Not so automatic: Task relevance and perceptual load modulate cross-modal semantic congruence effects on spatial orienting

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daria Kvasova ◽  
Salvador Soto-Faraco
Keyword(s):  
Visual Search ◽  
Spatial Attention ◽  
Perceptual Load ◽  
Task Relevance ◽  
Semantic Relationships ◽  
Spatial Orienting ◽  
Object Based ◽  
The Cross ◽  
Semantic Congruence ◽  
Modal Semantic

AbstractRecent studies show that cross-modal semantic congruence plays a role in spatial attention orienting and visual search. However, the extent to which these cross-modal semantic relationships attract attention automatically is still unclear. At present the outcomes of different studies have been inconsistent. Variations in task-relevance of the cross-modal stimuli (from explicitly needed, to completely irrelevant) and the amount of perceptual load may account for the mixed results of previous experiments. In the present study, we addressed the effects of audio-visual semantic congruence on visuo-spatial attention across variations in task relevance and perceptual load. We used visual search amongst images of common objects paired with characteristic object sounds (e.g., guitar image and chord sound). We found that audio-visual semantic congruence speeded visual search times when the cross-modal objects are task relevant, or when they are irrelevant but presented under low perceptual load. Instead, when perceptual load is high, sounds fail to attract attention towards the congruent visual images. These results lead us to conclude that object-based crossmodal congruence does not attract attention automatically and requires some top-down processing.

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