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Evidence for unlimited capacity processing of simple features in visual cortex.
Alex L White1, Erik Runeson2, John Palmer3
1University of Washington, Department of Psychology, Seattle, WA, USAalexlw@uw.eduhttp://alexlwhite.com/.
Journal of Vision
|June 28, 2017
Summary
Dividing spatial attention usually impairs visual task performance. However, this study found that simple feature detection in early visual cortex has unlimited capacity, with no performance decline when attention is divided.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Neuroscience
- Visual Perception
- Neuroimaging
Background:
- Dividing spatial attention often impairs visual task performance and reduces neuronal responses in the visual cortex.
- This suggests early visual cortex has limited processing resources.
- However, simple visual tasks do not show these attention costs.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate whether early visual cortex processing has capacity limits during simple feature detection.
- To bridge the gap between behavioral findings of minimal attention costs in simple tasks and neuroimaging studies using complex tasks.
Main Methods:
- Used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to measure blood-oxygen-level-dependent (BOLD) signals in the human visual cortex.
- Conducted two experiments: visual search for a low-contrast Gabor patch and a dual-task requiring independent judgments of Gabor presence.
- Compared brain responses during focused versus divided spatial attention.
Main Results:
- BOLD signals in retinotopic cortex were lower for ignored than attended stimuli.
- When attention was divided between multiple stimuli in simple feature detection tasks, BOLD signals were not reliably reduced.
- Behavioral performance remained unimpaired even when attention was divided.
Conclusions:
- Processing of simple features in early visual cortex appears to have unlimited capacity.
- Capacity limits in visual attention may depend on task complexity and the specific visual features being processed.
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