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Automatic change detection during the performance of a continuous visual task.
Andrea Tales1, Gillian Porter, Stuart Butler
1Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Bristol, Clifton, Bristol BS8 1TU, UK. Andrea.Tales@bristol.ac.uk
Neuroreport
|November 18, 2009
Summary
The brain automatically detects visual changes even during demanding tasks. However, this automatic change detection, measured by visual mismatch negativity (vMMN), disappears when changes become too frequent.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Neuroscience
- Visual Perception
- Electrophysiology
Background:
- Automatic visual change detection is typically studied using visual mismatch negativity (vMMN).
- vMMN reflects the brain's response to infrequent, unexpected visual stimuli (deviants) amidst common stimuli (standards).
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if automatic visual change detection occurs when attention is engaged by a concurrent demanding task.
- To determine the effect of deviant stimulus rarity on the vMMN response under attentional load.
Main Methods:
- Participants performed a demanding central task while task-irrelevant visual stimuli were presented peripherally.
- A sequence of standard stimuli was occasionally interrupted by deviant stimuli.
- Visual event-related potentials were recorded to measure vMMN.
Main Results:
- A significant vMMN was observed, indicating automatic change detection in the periphery despite central attentional focus.
- Reducing the frequency (increasing the rarity) of deviant stimuli abolished the vMMN response.
Conclusions:
- The brain can automatically detect visual changes in the periphery even when attention is heavily engaged elsewhere.
- The automaticity of visual change detection is dependent on the rarity of the deviant event; frequent changes are not automatically detected.
