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.

scholarly journals Dissecting the Neural Focus of Attention Reveals Distinct Processes for Spatial Attention and Object-Based Storage in Visual Working Memory

2019 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
pp. 526-540 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicole Hakim ◽  
Kirsten C. S. Adam ◽  
Eren Gunseli ◽  
Edward Awh ◽  
Edward K. Vogel
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Spatial Attention ◽  
Spatial Information ◽  
Focus Of Attention ◽  
Neural Signals ◽  
Attention Task ◽  
Spatial Orienting ◽  
Object Based ◽  
Object Storage ◽  
On Line

Complex cognition relies on both on-line representations in working memory (WM), said to reside in the focus of attention, and passive off-line representations of related information. Here, we dissected the focus of attention by showing that distinct neural signals index the on-line storage of objects and sustained spatial attention. We recorded electroencephalogram (EEG) activity during two tasks that employed identical stimulus displays but varied the relative demands for object storage and spatial attention. We found distinct delay-period signatures for an attention task (which required only spatial attention) and a WM task (which invoked both spatial attention and object storage). Although both tasks required active maintenance of spatial information, only the WM task elicited robust contralateral delay activity that was sensitive to mnemonic load. Thus, we argue that the focus of attention is maintained via a collaboration between distinct processes for covert spatial orienting and object-based storage.

scholarly journals Cross-modal Semantic Relationships Guide Spontaneous Orienting in Real-life Scenes

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daria Kvasova ◽  
Travis Stewart ◽  
Salvador Soto-Faraco
Keyword(s):  
Everyday Life ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Semantic Relationships ◽  
Visual Objects ◽  
Crossmodal Interactions ◽  
Free Viewing ◽  
Object Based ◽  
Semantic Associations ◽  
Speed Up ◽  
Semantic Congruence

In real-world scenes, the different objects and events available to our senses are interconnected within a rich web of semantic associations. These semantic links help parse information and make sense of the environment. For example, during goal-directed attention, characteristic everyday life object sounds help speed up visual search for these objects in natural and dynamic environments. However, it is not known whether semantic correspondences also play a role under spontaneous observation. Here, we investigated this question addressing whether crossmodal semantic congruence can drive spontaneous, overt visual attention in free-viewing conditions. We used eye-tracking whilst participants (N=45) viewed video clips of realistic complex scenes presented alongside sounds of varying semantic congruency with objects within the videos. We found that characteristic sounds increased the probability of looking, the number of fixations, and the total dwell time on the semantically corresponding visual objects, in comparison to when the same scenes were presented with semantically neutral sounds or just with background noise only. Our results suggest that crossmodal semantic congruence has an impact on spontaneous gaze and eye movements, and therefore on how attention samples information in a free viewing paradigm. Our findings extend beyond known effects of object-based crossmodal interactions with simple stimuli and shed new light upon how audio-visual semantically congruent relationships play out in everyday life scenarios.

Balint’s Syndrome and the Study of Attention

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lynn C. Robertson
Keyword(s):  
Visual Search ◽  
Spatial Attention ◽  
Signs And Symptoms ◽  
Object Perception ◽  
Feature Binding ◽  
Spatial Awareness ◽  
Object Based ◽  
The Face ◽  
Attentional Theory ◽  
Spatial Maps

Balint’s syndrome is the most severe neuropsychological disorder affecting spatial attention that has been observed. In humans, it can be observed after bilateral occipital-parietal damage. The signs and symptoms of this syndrome are first described and then discussed in terms of how research with patients with Balint’s syndrome has helped and/or limited our understanding of object-based attention, visual search, and feature binding in visual perception. The findings have also supported the existence of implicit spatial maps that are available in the face of severely limited conscious spatial awareness. The results of such studies have led to advancements in attentional theory, especially as related to spatial attention and its interaction with object perception.

scholarly journals Dissecting the neural focus of attention reveals distinct processes for spatial attention and object-based storage in visual working memory

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicole Hakim ◽  
Kirsten C. S. Adam ◽  
Eren Gunseli ◽  
Edward Awh ◽  
Edward K. Vogel
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Spatial Attention ◽  
Spatial Information ◽  
Focus Of Attention ◽  
Neural Signals ◽  
Attention Task ◽  
Spatial Orienting ◽  
Object Based ◽  
Object Storage ◽  
Online Storage

AbstractComplex cognition relies on both online representations in working memory (WM) said to reside in thefocus of attention, and passive offline representations of related information. Here, we dissect the focus of attention by showing that distinct neural signals index the online storage of objects and sustained spatial attention. We recorded EEG activity during two tasks that employed identical stimulus displays while the relative demands for object storage and spatial attention varied. We found distinct delay-period signatures for an attention task (which only required spatial attention) and WM task (which invoked both spatial attention and object storage). Although both tasks required active maintenance of spatial information, only the WM task elicited robust contralateral delay activity that was sensitive to mnemonic load. Thus, we argue that the focus of attention is maintained via a collaboration between distinct processes for covert spatial orienting and object-based storage.

scholarly journals Alpha-Band Oscillations Enable Spatially and Temporally Resolved Tracking of Covert Spatial Attention

2017 ◽  
Vol 28 (7) ◽  
pp. 929-941 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joshua J. Foster ◽  
David W. Sutterer ◽  
John T. Serences ◽  
Edward K. Vogel ◽  
Edward Awh
Keyword(s):  
Visual Search ◽  
Spatial Attention ◽  
Time Course ◽  
Temporal Dynamics ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Alpha Activity ◽  
Covert Attention ◽  
Spatial Orienting ◽  
Spatial And Temporal Dynamics ◽  
Processing Resources

Covert spatial attention is essential for humans’ ability to direct limited processing resources to the relevant aspects of visual scenes. A growing body of evidence suggests that rhythmic neural activity in the alpha frequency band (8–12 Hz) tracks the spatial locus of covert attention, which suggests that alpha activity is integral to spatial attention. However, extant work has not provided a compelling test of another key prediction: that alpha activity tracks the temporal dynamics of covert spatial orienting. In the current study, we examined the time course of spatially specific alpha activity after central cues and during visual search. Critically, the time course of this activity tracked trial-by-trial variations in orienting latency during visual search. These findings provide important new evidence for the link between rhythmic brain activity and covert spatial attention, and they highlight a powerful approach for tracking the spatial and temporal dynamics of this core cognitive process.

scholarly journals Color Can Shorten Breakthrough Times in Continuous Flash Suppression through Increased Salience and Task Relevance

Vision ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 13
Author(s):  
Christian Valuch
Keyword(s):  
Visual Search ◽  
Response Times ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Interocular Suppression ◽  
Continuous Flash Suppression ◽  
Task Relevance ◽  
Mediated Effects ◽  
Dominant Eye ◽  
Human Participants ◽  
And Task

Color can enhance the perception of relevant stimuli by increasing their salience and guiding visual search towards stimuli that match a task-relevant color. Using Continuous Flash Suppression (CFS), the current study investigated whether color facilitates the discrimination of targets that are difficult to perceive due to interocular suppression. Gabor patterns of two or four cycles per degree (cpd) were shown as targets to the non-dominant eye of human participants. CFS masks were presented at a rate of 10 Hz to the dominant eye, and participants had the task to report the target’s orientation as soon as they could discriminate it. The 2-cpd targets were robustly suppressed and resulted in much longer response times compared to 4-cpd targets. Moreover, only for 2-cpd targets, two color-related effects were evident. First, in trials where targets and CFS masks had different colors, targets were reported faster than in trials where targets and CFS masks had the same color. Second, targets with a known color, either cyan or yellow, were reported earlier than targets whose color was randomly cyan or yellow. The results suggest that the targets’ entry to consciousness may have been speeded by color-mediated effects relating to increased (bottom-up) salience and (top-down) task relevance.

The effect of gender stereotypes on cross-modal spatial attention

2021 ◽  
Vol 49 (9) ◽  
pp. 1-6
Author(s):  
Jiyou Gu ◽  
Huiqin Dong
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Attention ◽  
Gender Stereotypes ◽  
Visual Cues ◽  
Cognitive Schema ◽  
Spatial Cueing ◽  
Attention Effect ◽  
The Cross ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Trait Words ◽  
Consistent Information

Using a spatial-cueing paradigm in which trait words were set as visual cues and gender words were set as auditory targets, we examined whether cross-modal spatial attention was influenced by gender stereotypes. Results of an experiment conducted with 24 participants indicate that they tended to focus on targets in the valid-cue condition (i.e., the cues located at the same position as targets), regardless of the modality of cues and targets, which is consistent with the cross-modal attention effect found in previous studies. Participants tended to focus on targets that were stereotype-consistent with cues only when the cues were valid, which shows that stereotype-consistent information facilitated visual–auditory cross-modal spatial attention. These results suggest that cognitive schema, such as gender stereotypes, have an effect on cross-modal spatial attention.

scholarly journals The effect of perceptual load on gaze and EEG signals in multi-target visual search with free eye-movements

2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (10) ◽  
pp. 273
Author(s):  
Anthony M Harris ◽  
Joshua O Eayrs ◽  
Nilli Lavie
Keyword(s):  
Visual Search ◽  
Eye Movements ◽  
Perceptual Load ◽  
Eeg Signals
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