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Visual attention as an integrated sensorimotor process
1Department of Cognitive and Psychological Sciences, Brown University, RI, USA sean_obryan@brown.edu joo-hyun_song@brown.edu.
The Behavioral and Brain Sciences
|November 26, 2025
Summary
Visual attention research faces a crisis due to conflating concepts. Reframing visual attention within an integrated sensorimotor system, linking vision and action, offers a new paradigm.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Neuroscience
- Visual Perception
- Sensorimotor Integration
Background:
- The concept of visual attention is currently ill-defined, conflating observational phenomena with explanatory mechanisms.
- This conceptual ambiguity has led to a crisis in the field, necessitating a paradigm shift.
- Existing frameworks predominantly focus on perception, potentially limiting a comprehensive understanding of visual attention.
Purpose of the Study:
- To address the conceptual crisis in visual attention research.
- To propose a reframing of visual attention within a broader framework.
- To highlight the role of visual attention in linking perception and action within a sensorimotor system.
Main Methods:
- Conceptual analysis of existing visual attention theories.
- Integration of perceptual and motor control frameworks.
- Theoretical proposal for a sensorimotor approach to visual attention.
Main Results:
- Identified conflation of phenomena and mechanisms as a key issue in visual attention research.
- Proposed that a perception-centric view contributes to this conceptual crisis.
- Advocated for a paradigm shift towards an integrated sensorimotor perspective.
Conclusions:
- Reframing visual attention as part of an integrated sensorimotor system is crucial.
- This reframing emphasizes the dynamic link between vision and action.
- A sensorimotor framework offers a more comprehensive understanding of visual attention.
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