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Feature-based attention: it is all bottom-up priming.

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  • 1Department of Cognitive Psychology, Vrije Universiteit, , Van der Boechorststraat 1, 1081 BT Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

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|September 11, 2013
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Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Feature-based attention (FBA) may be driven by bottom-up priming rather than top-down control. Attending to a feature automatically enhances its processing across the visual field, challenging existing visual search theories.

Keywords:
feature-based attentionpriming, top-down controlselective attention

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Area of Science:

  • Cognitive Psychology
  • Neuroscience
  • Visual Perception

Background:

  • Feature-based attention (FBA) is crucial for visual search, enhancing stimulus feature representation across the visual field.
  • Existing theories often assume FBA is primarily under top-down control.
  • However, the extent of top-down influence in FBA remains debated.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To critically evaluate the role of top-down processing in feature-based attention.
  • To investigate whether observed FBA effects are attributable to automatic, bottom-up mechanisms.
  • To challenge the prevailing assumption of dominant top-down control in FBA.

Main Methods:

  • Literature review of behavioral and neuroimaging studies on FBA.
  • Analysis of studies employing cueing paradigms to assess FBA mechanisms.
  • Examination of evidence for and against top-down versus bottom-up influences.

Main Results:

  • Many FBA studies cannot definitively exclude the influence of priming.
  • Attending to a feature appears to trigger mandatory, potentially bottom-up, processing enhancements.
  • Cueing paradigms suggest limited top-down control, with stimulus processing being key.

Conclusions:

  • The role of top-down processing in FBA might be more limited than previously assumed.
  • Observed FBA effects could largely result from bottom-up priming mechanisms.
  • Further research is needed to disentangle top-down and bottom-up contributions to FBA.