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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 11, 2026

Measuring Attention and Visual Processing Speed by Model-based Analysis of Temporal-order Judgments
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Published on: January 23, 2017

Figure-ground mechanisms provide structure for selective attention.

Fangtu T Qiu1, Tadashi Sugihara, Rüdiger von der Heydt

  • 1Krieger Mind/Brain Institute and Department of Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins University, 3400 North Charles Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21218, USA.

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|October 9, 2007
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Summary

Figure-ground organization and attention converge in visual cortex neurons. This suggests the neural network for visual organization also guides attention selection.

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Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Visual Perception
  • Cognitive Neuroscience

Background:

  • Attention is guided by figure-ground organization, where figures capture attention and ground is ignored.
  • Mechanisms of figure-ground organization in the visual cortex are known, but their link to attention is unclear.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the convergence of figure-ground organization and top-down attention in single neurons.
  • To understand how neural mechanisms of visual organization relate to attentional selection.

Main Methods:

  • Recording neural activity from single neurons in area V2 of Macaca mulatta.
  • Presenting stimuli with overlapping figures and varying attentional focus.
  • Analyzing neuronal responses in relation to border ownership and attentional side.

Main Results:

  • Figure-ground assignment (border ownership) occurred for both attended and ignored figures.
  • Attentional modulation was stronger when attended figures were on the neuron's preferred side of border ownership.
  • Neuronal responses depended on the side of attention when borders were within the receptive field, with enhancement on the preferred side.

Conclusions:

  • Figure-ground organization and volitional attention converge in area V2 neurons.
  • The neural network responsible for figure-ground organization likely interfaces with the attentional selection process.
  • This finding provides insight into the neural basis of how we selectively attend to objects in complex visual scenes.