The time course of similarity effects in visual search.

It is not definitely known how direct-current stimulation causes its long-lasting effects. Here, we tested the hypothesis that the long time course of transcranial direct-current stimulation (tDCS) is because of the electrical field increasing the plasticity of the brain tissue. If this is the case, then we should see tDCS effects when humans need to encode information into long-term memory, but not at other times. We tested this hypothesis by delivering tDCS to the ventral visual stream of human participants during different tasks (i.e., recognition memory vs. visual search) and at different times during a memory task. We found that tDCS improved memory encoding, and the neural correlates thereof, but not retrieval. We also found that tDCS did not change the efficiency of information processing during visual search for a certain target object, a task that does not require the formation of new connections in the brain but instead relies on attention and object recognition mechanisms. Thus, our findings support the hypothesis that direct-current stimulation modulates brain activity by changing the underlying plasticity of the tissue.

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The Time Course of Target Template Activation Processes during Preparation for Visual Search

Journal of Neuroscience ◽

10.1523/jneurosci.0409-18.2018 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 38 (44) ◽

pp. 9527-9538 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

Anna Grubert ◽

Martin Eimer

Keyword(s):

Visual Search ◽

Time Course ◽

Target Template

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Drawn to Distraction: Anxiety Impairs Neural Suppression of Known Distractor Features in Visual Search

Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience ◽

10.1162/jocn_a_01743 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-13

Author(s):

Christine Salahub ◽

Stephen M. Emrich

Keyword(s):

Visual Search ◽

Attentional Control ◽

Template Matching ◽

Time Course ◽

High Anxiety ◽

Guided Search ◽

Distractor Processing ◽

Search And Destroy

Abstract When searching for a target, it is possible to suppress the features of a known distractor. This suppression may prevent distractor processing altogether or only after the distractor initially captures attention (i.e., search and destroy). However, suppression may be impaired in individuals with attentional control deficits, such as in high anxiety. In this study (n = 48), we used ERPs to examine the time course of attentional enhancement and suppression when participants were given pretrial information about target or distractor features. Consistent with our hypothesis, we found that individuals with higher levels of anxiety had lower neural measures of suppressing the template-matching distractor, instead showing enhanced processing. These findings indicate that individuals with anxiety are more likely to use a search-and-destroy mechanism of negative templates—highlighting the importance of attentional control abilities in distractor-guided search.

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Contextual cueing facilitation arises early in the time course of visual search: An investigation with the `speed-accuracy tradeoff task

Attention Perception & Psychophysics ◽

10.3758/s13414-020-02028-9 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 82 (6) ◽

pp. 2851-2861 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Honami Kobayashi ◽

Hirokazu Ogawa

Keyword(s):

Visual Search ◽

Time Course ◽

Contextual Cueing ◽

Speed Accuracy ◽

Accuracy Tradeoff

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Neural mechanisms of speed-accuracy tradeoff of visual search: Saccade vigor, targeting errors, superior colliculus and frontal eye field

10.1101/212621 ◽

2017 ◽

Author(s):

Thomas R. Reppert ◽

Mathieu Servant ◽

Richard P. Heitz ◽

Jeffrey D. Schall

Keyword(s):

Visual Search ◽

Superior Colliculus ◽

Time Course ◽

Frontal Eye Field ◽

Visual Responses ◽

Response Preparation ◽

Eye Field ◽

Neurophysiological Mechanisms ◽

Speed Accuracy ◽

Accuracy Tradeoff

AbstractBalancing the speed-accuracy tradeoff (SAT) is necessary for successful behavior. Using a visual search task with interleaved cues emphasizing speed or accuracy, we recently reported diverse contributions of frontal eye field (FEF) neurons instantiating salience evidence and response preparation. Here we report replication of visual search SAT performance in two macaque monkeys, new information about variation of saccade dynamics with SAT, extension of the neurophysiological investigation to describe processes in the superior colliculus, and description of the origin of search errors in this task. Saccade vigor varied idiosyncratically across SAT conditions and monkeys, but tended to decrease with response time. As observed in the FEF, speed-accuracy tradeoff was accomplished through several distinct adjustments in the superior colliculus. Visually-responsive neurons modulated baseline firing rate and the time course of salience evidence. Unlike FEF, the magnitude of visual responses in SC did not vary across SAT conditions, but the time to locate the target was longer in Accurate as compared to Fast trials. Also unlike FEF, the activity of SC movement neurons when saccades were initiated was equivalent in Fast and Accurate trials. Search errors occurred when visual salience neurons in FEF and SC treated distractors as targets, even in the Accurate condition. Saccade-related neural activity in SC but less FEF varied with saccade peak velocity. These results extend our understanding of the cortical and subcortical contributions to SAT.Significance statementNeurophysiological mechanisms of speed-accuracy tradeoff (SAT) have only recently been investigated. This paper reports the first replication of SAT performance in nonhuman primates, the first report of variation of saccade dynamics with SAT, the first description of superior colliculus contributions to SAT, and the first description of the origin of errors during SAT. These results inform and constrain new models of distributed decision-making.

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The time course of stimulus-response compatibility in visual search

PsycEXTRA Dataset ◽

10.1037/e520592012-772 ◽

2010 ◽

Author(s):

Wieske van Zoest ◽

Jan Theeuwes

Keyword(s):

Visual Search ◽

Time Course ◽

Response Compatibility ◽

Stimulus Response ◽

Stimulus Response Compatibility

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Microgenesis and Ontogenesis of Perceptual Organization

Psychological Science ◽

10.1111/j.0956-7976.2005.01529.x ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 16 (4) ◽

pp. 282-290 ◽

Cited By ~ 78

Author(s):

Ruth Kimchi ◽

Batsheva Hadad ◽

Marlene Behrmann ◽

Stephen E. Palmer

Keyword(s):

Visual Search ◽

Perceptual Organization ◽

Time Course ◽

Developmental Trajectories ◽

Age Related ◽

Multiple Processes ◽

The One ◽

Small Elements ◽

Age Related Changes ◽

Speeded Classification

In two experiments, visual search and speeded classification were used to study perception of hierarchical patterns among participants aged 5 to 23 years. Perception of global configurations of few-element patterns and local elements of many-element patterns showed large age-related improvements. Only minor age-related changes were observed in perception of global configurations of many-element patterns and local elements of few-element patterns. These results are consistent with prior microgenetic analyses using hierarchical patterns. On the one hand, the rapid and effortless grouping of many small elements and the individuation of few large elements both mature by age 5. In contrast, the time-consuming and effortful grouping of few large elements and the individuation of many small elements improve substantially with age, primarily between ages 5 and 10. These findings support the view that perceptual organization involves multiple processes that vary in time course, attentional demands, and developmental trajectories.

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Dissociation of Visual Discrimination From Saccade Programming in Macaque Frontal Eye Field

Journal of Neurophysiology ◽

10.1152/jn.1997.77.2.1046 ◽

1997 ◽

Vol 77 (2) ◽

pp. 1046-1050 ◽

Cited By ~ 182

Author(s):

Kirk G. Thompson ◽

Narcisse P. Bichot ◽

Jeffrey D. Schall

Keyword(s):

Visual Search ◽

Eye Movements ◽

Visual Stimulus ◽

Visual Discrimination ◽

Time Course ◽

Selection Process ◽

Frontal Eye Field ◽

Visual Responses ◽

Eye Field ◽

Saccade Programming

Thompson, Kirk G., Narcisse P. Bichot, and Jeffrey D. Schall. Dissociation of visual discrimination from saccade programming in macaque frontal eye field. J. Neurophysiol. 77: 1046–1050, 1997. To determine whether visual discrimination in macaque frontal eye field (FEF) is contingent on saccade planning, unit activity was recorded in two monkeys during blocked go and no-go visual search trials. The eye movements made by monkeys after correct no-go trials, in addition to an attenuation of the visual responses in no-go trials compared with go trials, indicated that covert saccade planning was effectively discouraged. During no-go search trials, the activity of the majority of neurons evolved to signal the location of the oddball stimulus. The degree and time course of the stimulus discrimination process observed in no-go trials was not different from that observed in go trials. We conclude that the discrimination of a salient visual stimulus reflected by FEF neurons is not contingent on saccade production but rather may reflect the outcome of an automatic visual selection process.

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