Limited featured-based attention to multiple features

作者：Liu Taosheng^*; Becker Mark W; Jigo Michael

来源：Vision Research, 2013, 85: 36-44.

DOI：10.1016/j.visres.2012.09.001

• Attention
• Feature
• Capacity
• Motion
• Coherence

Attending to a feature (e.g., color or motion direction) can enhance the early visual processing of that feature. However, it is not known whether one can simultaneously enhance multiple features. We examined people%26apos;s ability to attend to multiple features in a feature cueing paradigm. Each trial contained two intervals consisting of a random dot motion stimulus. One interval (noise) had 0% coherence (no net motion), while the other interval (signal) moved in a particular direction with varying levels of coherence. Participants reported which interval contained the signal in one of three cueing conditions. In the one-cue condition, a line segment preceded the stimuli indicating the direction of the signal with 100% validity. In the two-cue condition, two lines preceded the stimuli, indicating the signal would move in one of the two cued directions. In the no-cue condition, no line segment appeared before the dot stimuli. In several experiments, we consistently observed a lower detection threshold in the one-cue condition than the no-cue condition, showing that participants can enhance processing of a single feature. However, detection threshold was consistently higher for the two-cue than one-cue condition, indicating that participants could not simultaneously enhance two motion directions as effectively as one direction. This finding revealed a severe capacity limit in our ability to enhance early visual processing for multiple features.

• 出版日期2013-6-7