Feature-temporal predictions dynamically modulate performance, feature-based attentional capture, and motor response...

Recent work has shown that temporal predictions linked to spatial expectations can guide visual search in dynamic environments, but less is known about feature-based temporal predictions. Here, we investigated whether behaviour is guided towards feature-temporally predictable targets in crowded, dynamic displays under spatial uncertainty. Participants searched for two distinct targets (non-overlapping colour-shape combinations) in a free-viewing visual-search task. During learning trials, each target appeared transiently at a predictable time (early or late); in testing, some appeared unpredictably. We assessed whether feature-temporal predictability improved target identification, modulated attentional guidance, and tuned motor preparation. Results showed that, early during trials, participants were more efficient at identifying temporally predicted targets, with electromyography revealing enhanced muscle activity aligned with expected target timing. Distractors sharing features with either target captured gaze most often when that target was expected, indicating temporally tuned, feature-based attentional guidance. These findings highlight the flexibility of temporal expectations in guiding behaviour.