Visual Feature Perception and Neural Representations During Shifts of Attention

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Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 0 pages
Book Rating : 4.:/5 (136 download)

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Book Synopsis Visual Feature Perception and Neural Representations During Shifts of Attention by : Jiageng Chen (Ph. D. in psychology)

Download or read book Visual Feature Perception and Neural Representations During Shifts of Attention written by Jiageng Chen (Ph. D. in psychology) and published by . This book was released on 2021 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The environment presents more information than we can fully process at a time. We rely on visual attention to prioritize and enhance the process of behaviorally relevant stimuli. To deal with real world challenges, visual attention is rarely static, instead dynamically shifting and splitting across spatial locations, objects and features. How does dynamic visual attention interact with visual perception to form our integrated visual experience? In this dissertation, I presented three studies to investigate the role of attention in processing the visual input from dynamic perspective. In Chapter 2, I demonstrated that involuntary shift of attention (captured by the distractor) could lead to two types of feature-binding errors (swapping errors and repulsion errors), indicating during the process of attentional shifts, the updates of location and feature information could be vulnerable and not perfect. In Chapter 3, I used EEG and Inverted Encoding Model to directly track the updates of location and feature information during attentional shifts. The results indicated the potential temporal link between location and feature updates across shift of attention. In Chapter 4, using fMRI, I successfully reconstructed task- relevant features in a multi-feature multi-object display from occipital and parietal brain regions. The results highlighted the role of attention to select the task-relevant information over the task-irrelevant information. In Chapter 5, I discussed the general implications of this dissertation and future directions. Overall, the studies in this dissertation emphasized the role of focused spatial attention in the processing of integrating features and locations into a cohesive visual world. It also provided useful tools to study the feature and location representations in a variety of dynamic cognitive process.

Matters of Intelligence

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Publisher : Springer
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 528 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (91 download)

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Book Synopsis Matters of Intelligence by : L.M. Vaina

Download or read book Matters of Intelligence written by L.M. Vaina and published by Springer. This book was released on 1987-03-31 with total page 528 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume is not an attempt to give a comprehensive treatment of the many facets of intelligence. Rather, the intention is to present multiple approaches to interesting and novel ways of looking at old problems. The focus is on the visual and some of the conceptual intelligences. Vision is man's primary cognitive contact with the world around him, and we are vividly reminded of this by Roman Jakobson's autobiographical note, "The Evasive Initial" with which this volume begins. That we see the world as well as we do is something of a miracle. Looking out through our eyes, our brains give us reliable knowledge about the world around us in all it beauty of form, color and movement. The chapters in the first section look at how this may come about from various perspectives. How from the intensity array which the world casts on the eye's retina does the brain achieve recognition? What may be some of the processes involved in seeing? We see shapes, textures and colors, and subsequently, at the more cognitive levels, recognize them as objects which we can manipulate: we inspect them to discover what to use them for. The objects are tools or food; they are things, beautiful, lovable or frightening. They are things to remember and to talk about to our friends, or to ask someone for. We can ask for many or just a few. They are important to us or trivial.

Discovering the Brain

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Publisher : National Academies Press
ISBN 13 : 0309045290
Total Pages : 195 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (9 download)

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Book Synopsis Discovering the Brain by : National Academy of Sciences

Download or read book Discovering the Brain written by National Academy of Sciences and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 1992-01-01 with total page 195 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The brain ... There is no other part of the human anatomy that is so intriguing. How does it develop and function and why does it sometimes, tragically, degenerate? The answers are complex. In Discovering the Brain, science writer Sandra Ackerman cuts through the complexity to bring this vital topic to the public. The 1990s were declared the "Decade of the Brain" by former President Bush, and the neuroscience community responded with a host of new investigations and conferences. Discovering the Brain is based on the Institute of Medicine conference, Decade of the Brain: Frontiers in Neuroscience and Brain Research. Discovering the Brain is a "field guide" to the brainâ€"an easy-to-read discussion of the brain's physical structure and where functions such as language and music appreciation lie. Ackerman examines: How electrical and chemical signals are conveyed in the brain. The mechanisms by which we see, hear, think, and pay attentionâ€"and how a "gut feeling" actually originates in the brain. Learning and memory retention, including parallels to computer memory and what they might tell us about our own mental capacity. Development of the brain throughout the life span, with a look at the aging brain. Ackerman provides an enlightening chapter on the connection between the brain's physical condition and various mental disorders and notes what progress can realistically be made toward the prevention and treatment of stroke and other ailments. Finally, she explores the potential for major advances during the "Decade of the Brain," with a look at medical imaging techniquesâ€"what various technologies can and cannot tell usâ€"and how the public and private sectors can contribute to continued advances in neuroscience. This highly readable volume will provide the public and policymakersâ€"and many scientists as wellâ€"with a helpful guide to understanding the many discoveries that are sure to be announced throughout the "Decade of the Brain."

Pattern Recognition by Humans and Machines

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Publisher : Elsevier
ISBN 13 : 1483214265
Total Pages : 261 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (832 download)

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Book Synopsis Pattern Recognition by Humans and Machines by : Eileen C. Schwab

Download or read book Pattern Recognition by Humans and Machines written by Eileen C. Schwab and published by Elsevier. This book was released on 2016-06-03 with total page 261 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Pattern Recognitions by Humans and Machines, Volume 2: Visual Perceptions covers aspects of research on visual perception. The book discusses visual form perception, figure-ground organization, and the spatial and temporal responses of the visual system; eye movements; and visual pattern perception. The text also describes a computer vision model based on psychophysical experiments; perspectives from brain theory and artificial intelligence; and the capacity to extract shape properties and spatial relations among objects and objects' parts. Knowledge-mediated perception is also considered. Psychologists and people involved in the study of visual perceptions will find the book useful.

Neurobiology of Attention

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Publisher : Elsevier
ISBN 13 : 0080454313
Total Pages : 757 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (84 download)

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Book Synopsis Neurobiology of Attention by : Laurent Itti

Download or read book Neurobiology of Attention written by Laurent Itti and published by Elsevier. This book was released on 2005-03-31 with total page 757 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A key property of neural processing in higher mammals is the ability to focus resources by selectively directing attention to relevant perceptions, thoughts or actions. Research into attention has grown rapidly over the past two decades, as new techniques have become available to study higher brain function in humans, non-human primates, and other mammals. Neurobiology of Attention is the first encyclopedic volume to summarize the latest developments in attention research.An authoritative collection of over 100 chapters organized into thematic sections provides both broad coverage and access to focused, up-to-date research findings. This book presents a state-of-the-art multidisciplinary perspective on psychological, physiological and computational approaches to understanding the neurobiology of attention. Ideal for students, as a reference handbook or for rapid browsing, the book has a wide appeal to anybody interested in attention research. * Contains numerous quick-reference articles covering the breadth of investigation into the subject of attention* Provides extensive introductory commentary to orient and guide the reader* Includes the most recent research results in this field of study

Visual Cortical Representations of Bottom-up Salience and Perceptual Continuity

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ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : pages
Book Rating : 4.:/5 (711 download)

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Book Synopsis Visual Cortical Representations of Bottom-up Salience and Perceptual Continuity by : Brittany Edna Burrows

Download or read book Visual Cortical Representations of Bottom-up Salience and Perceptual Continuity written by Brittany Edna Burrows and published by . This book was released on 2011 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The amount of information available to the retina far exceeds the processing capacity of the visual system. Visual attention provides a means by which we can make use of the information available with optimal efficiency, allowing us to selectively process objects that are most likely to help us achieve our behavioral goals while filtering out others. Decades of research have revealed that visual representations of objects aligned with the locus of attention are enhanced, resulting in perceptual benefits. The attentional modulation of visual cortical responses, however, has been almost exclusively characterized within the context of volitionally deployed, top-down attention. Although the behavioral correlates of involuntarily deployed, bottom-up attention are well known, the underlying neural mechanism and its relationship to top-down attention are not. In Chapters 2 and 3 of this thesis, I describe experiments that investigate the neural correlates and mechanisms of bottom-up attention. In order to examine the neural correlates of bottom-up attention, we measured responses of single neurons in area V4 to "popout" stimuli, which differ uniformly from surrounding items and draw attention in a bottom-up manner, and compared them to responses to "conjunction" stimuli, which are composed of a combination of surrounding features and require top-down selection. We found that V4 responses are modulated by popout stimuli. This selectivity was more robust when larger numbers of surrounding items and multiple features were included in the display, and it was absent when only a few items were presented immediately outside the receptive field (RF). We next examined the relationship between bottom-up and top-down attention by measuring responses to these same stimuli while top-down attention was directed to locations distant from the RF. We found that popout selectivity was eliminated, indicating that the salience of popout stimuli is not sufficient to drive selection by V4 neurons under these conditions. These results demonstrate that neurons in feature-selective cortex are influenced by bottom-up attention, but that this influence is limited by top-down attention. Whether the source of the signal initiating attentional deployment is top-down or bottom-up, our gaze is typically aligned with the locus of our attention, making use of the high density of photoreceptors at the fovea of the retina. As we move our eyes around a visual scene to briefly fixate objects for further processing, we do not perceive the explosive onset of motion between each fixation that is created by these eye movements, nor do we perceive a series of individual snapshots from each fixation. Instead, we have a seamless visual experience of our surroundings. This perception of continuity across eye movements is crucial to efficient behavior, and yet the neural mechanisms that support a continuous visual experience are not well understood. In Chapter 4 of this thesis, I describe an experiment that investigates the neural representations of perceptual continuity during saccadic eye movements. In order to examine whether V4 neurons are involved in creating a continuous perceptual experience, we measured the responses of V4 neurons to probe stimuli presented during the preparation of saccadic eye movements to targets distant from the RF. We observed that the responses of area V4 neurons to probe stimuli depended on the similarity between the neuronal preference and the target of a saccade. Specifically, the suppression of V4 responses normally present during the preparation of saccades to targets outside of a neuron's RF was absent when the features of the target were congruent with the preference of the recorded neuron. This target-dependent modulation resulted in a substantial effect of the target match/non-match manipulation on neuronal selectivity. The results are consistent with a computational model in which saccade preparation automatically results in a global target-dependent modulation of visual cortical signals. We suggest that this modulation may contribute to the continuity of perception across saccadic eye movements. The results of this thesis demonstrate that V4 neurons are selective for stimuli that draw bottom-up attention. Surprisingly, this selectivity depends on the availability of top-down attentional resources, suggesting that these two distinct varieties of visual attention rely, at least in part, on a common mechanism. Additionally, this thesis provides evidence that V4 neurons contribute to a seamless perceptual experience by maintaining important visual information transaccadically.

Pre-cueing Effects on Perception, Attention, and Cognitive Penetrability

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Publisher : Frontiers Media SA
ISBN 13 : 2889454606
Total Pages : 98 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (894 download)

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Book Synopsis Pre-cueing Effects on Perception, Attention, and Cognitive Penetrability by : Athanassios Raftopoulos

Download or read book Pre-cueing Effects on Perception, Attention, and Cognitive Penetrability written by Athanassios Raftopoulos and published by Frontiers Media SA. This book was released on 2018-04-12 with total page 98 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Attention has often been likened to spotlights and filters—devices that illuminate or screen out some inputs in favor of others. This largely passive conception of attention has been gradually replaced by a more dynamic and far-reaching process. We know that attentional processes augment neural processing at all levels, and in some cases, augmenting processing within the sense organs themselves. For example, cueing object features (e.g., instructing a subject to look at a screen for a red object) modulates prestimulus activity in the visual cortex. Far from being limited to space or basic features, such attention cueing can function in surprisingly flexible and complex ways: people can be cued to attend to various objects, properties, and semantic categories and such attention appears to directly involve perceptual mechanisms. Studies of spatial attention cues presented before stimulus presentation show early modulation of perceptual processing. This phenomenon refers to the enhancement of the baseline activity of neurons at all levels in the visual cortex that are tuned to the cued location, which is called attentional modulation of spontaneous activity. The spontaneous firing rates of neurons are increased when attention is shifted toward the location of an upcoming stimulus before its presentation. Evidence also suggests that through pre-cueing of object features, feature-based attention modulates prestimulus activity in the visual cortex. The effects of pre-stimulus feature attention act either as a preparatory activity to enhance the stimulus-evoked potentials within feature sensitive areas, or they act so as to modulate stimulus-locked transients. Both effects of pre-cueing reflect a change in background neural activity. They are called anticipatory effects established prior to the presentation of the stimulus. Thus, they do not modulate processing during stimulus viewing but bias the process before it starts via the increase in the base line firing rates; they rig-up perceptual processing without affecting it on-line. Moreover, recent work on perceptual processing emphasizes the role of brain as a predictive tool. To perceive is to use what you know to explain away the sensory signal across multiple spatial and temporal scales. Perception aims to enable perceivers to interact with their environment successfully. Success relies on inferring or predicting correctly (or nearly so) the nature of the source of the incoming signal from the signal itself, an inference that may well be Bayesian. Current research sheds light on the role of attention in inferring the identities of the distal objects. Attention within late vision contributes to testing hypotheses concerning the putative distal causes of the sensory data encoded in the lower neuronal assemblies in the visual processing hierarchy. This testing assumes the form of matching predictions, made on the basis of an hypothesis, about the sensory information that the lower levels should encode assuming that the hypothesis is correct, with the current, actual sensory information encoded at the lower levels. To this aim, attention enhances the activity of neurons in the cortical regions that encode the stimuli that most likely contain information relevant to the testing of the hypothesis. In this Research Topic we aim to answer two related questions: First, what are the differences between this sort of pre-cueing effects and top-down cognitive influences on perception, and, in general, how do such attentional cuing effects relate to the broader literature on top-down influences on perception? Second, given that attention appears to change perceptual processing and that a form of attention, namely, cognitively-driven (or endogenous, or sustained) attention is a cognitive process, does attentional modulation through pre-cueing constitute cognitive penetrability of perception? Addressing these two questions will shed light on the theoretical underpinnings of cognitive penetrability and the nature of perceptual processing.

The Oxford Handbook of Attention

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Publisher : OUP Oxford
ISBN 13 : 0191662593
Total Pages : 1260 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (916 download)

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Book Synopsis The Oxford Handbook of Attention by : Anna C. Nobre

Download or read book The Oxford Handbook of Attention written by Anna C. Nobre and published by OUP Oxford. This book was released on 2014-02-13 with total page 1260 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: During the last three decades, there have been enormous advances in our understanding of the neural mechanisms of selective attention at the network as well as the cellular level. The Oxford Handbook of Attention brings together the different research areas that constitute contemporary attention research into one comprehensive and authoritative volume. In 40 chapters, it covers the most important aspects of attention research from the areas of cognitive psychology, neuropsychology, human and animal neuroscience, computational modelling, and philosophy. The book is divided into 4 main sections. Following an introduction from Michael Posner, the books starts by looking at theoretical models of attention. The next two sections are dedicated to spatial attention and non-spatial attention respectively. Within section 4, the authors consider the interactions between attention and other psychological domains. The last two sections focus on attention-related disorders, and finally, on computational models of attention. Aimed at both scholars and students, the Oxford Handbook of Attention provides a concise and state-of-the-art review of the current literature in this field.

The Breadth of Visual Attention

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Publisher : Cambridge University Press
ISBN 13 : 1108847455
Total Pages : 83 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (88 download)

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Book Synopsis The Breadth of Visual Attention by : Stephanie C. Goodhew

Download or read book The Breadth of Visual Attention written by Stephanie C. Goodhew and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2020-06-18 with total page 83 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Humans can focus their attention narrowly (e.g., to read this text) or broadly (e.g., to determine which way a large crowd of people are moving). This Element comprehensively considers attentional breadth. Section 1 introduces the concept of attentional breadth, while Section 2 considers measures of attentional breadth. In particular, this section provides a critical discussion of the types of psychometric evidence which should be sought to establish the validity of measures of attentional breadth and reviews the available evidence through this lens. Section 3 considers the visual task performance consequences of attentional breadth, including prescribing several key methodological criteria that studies that manipulate attentional breadth need to meet, as well as a discussion of relevant theories and avenues for future theoretical development. Section 4 discusses the utility of the exogenous–endogenous distinction from covert shifts of attention for understanding the performance consequences of attentional breadth. Finally, Section 5 provides concluding remarks.

The Neural Bases of Multisensory Processes

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Publisher : CRC Press
ISBN 13 : 1439812179
Total Pages : 800 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (398 download)

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Book Synopsis The Neural Bases of Multisensory Processes by : Micah M. Murray

Download or read book The Neural Bases of Multisensory Processes written by Micah M. Murray and published by CRC Press. This book was released on 2011-08-25 with total page 800 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: It has become accepted in the neuroscience community that perception and performance are quintessentially multisensory by nature. Using the full palette of modern brain imaging and neuroscience methods, The Neural Bases of Multisensory Processes details current understanding in the neural bases for these phenomena as studied across species, stages of development, and clinical statuses. Organized thematically into nine sub-sections, the book is a collection of contributions by leading scientists in the field. Chapters build generally from basic to applied, allowing readers to ascertain how fundamental science informs the clinical and applied sciences. Topics discussed include: Anatomy, essential for understanding the neural substrates of multisensory processing Neurophysiological bases and how multisensory stimuli can dramatically change the encoding processes for sensory information Combinatorial principles and modeling, focusing on efforts to gain a better mechanistic handle on multisensory operations and their network dynamics Development and plasticity Clinical manifestations and how perception and action are affected by altered sensory experience Attention and spatial representations The last sections of the book focus on naturalistic multisensory processes in three separate contexts: motion signals, multisensory contributions to the perception and generation of communication signals, and how the perception of flavor is generated. The text provides a solid introduction for newcomers and a strong overview of the current state of the field for experts.

Integrating Computational and Neural Findings in Visual Object Perception

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Publisher : Frontiers Media SA
ISBN 13 : 2889198731
Total Pages : 139 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (891 download)

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Book Synopsis Integrating Computational and Neural Findings in Visual Object Perception by : Judith C. Peters

Download or read book Integrating Computational and Neural Findings in Visual Object Perception written by Judith C. Peters and published by Frontiers Media SA. This book was released on 2016-06-29 with total page 139 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The articles in this Research Topic provide a state-of-the-art overview of the current progress in integrating computational and empirical research on visual object recognition. Developments in this exciting multidisciplinary field have recently gained momentum: High performance computing enabled breakthroughs in computer vision and computational neuroscience. In parallel, innovative machine learning applications have recently become available for datamining the large-scale, high resolution brain data acquired with (ultra-high field) fMRI and dense multi-unit recordings. Finally, new techniques to integrate such rich simulated and empirical datasets for direct model testing could aid the development of a comprehensive brain model. We hope that this Research Topic contributes to these encouraging advances and inspires future research avenues in computational and empirical neuroscience.

Attention in Cognitive Systems. Theories and Systems from an Interdisciplinary Viewpoint

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Publisher : Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN 13 : 3540773428
Total Pages : 507 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (47 download)

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Book Synopsis Attention in Cognitive Systems. Theories and Systems from an Interdisciplinary Viewpoint by : Lucas Paletta

Download or read book Attention in Cognitive Systems. Theories and Systems from an Interdisciplinary Viewpoint written by Lucas Paletta and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2007 with total page 507 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume provides a much-needed interdisciplinary angle on the subject of attention in cognitive systems. It constitutes the thoroughly refereed post-workshop proceedings of the 5th International Workshop on Attention in Cognitive Systems, held in Hyderabad, India, in January 2007. The 31 papers are organized in topical sections that cover every aspect of the subject, from the embodiment of attention and its cognitive control, to the applications of attentive vision.

Foundations of Vision

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Publisher : Sinauer Associates, Incorporated
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 508 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (91 download)

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Book Synopsis Foundations of Vision by : Brian A. Wandell

Download or read book Foundations of Vision written by Brian A. Wandell and published by Sinauer Associates, Incorporated. This book was released on 1995 with total page 508 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Designed for students, scientists and engineers interested in learning about the core ideas of vision science, this volume brings together the broad range of data and theory accumulated in this field.

Proceedings of the Fifteenth Annual Conference of the Cognitive Science Society

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Publisher : Psychology Press
ISBN 13 : 9780805814873
Total Pages : 1080 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (148 download)

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Book Synopsis Proceedings of the Fifteenth Annual Conference of the Cognitive Science Society by : Science Society Cognitive, Con

Download or read book Proceedings of the Fifteenth Annual Conference of the Cognitive Science Society written by Science Society Cognitive, Con and published by Psychology Press. This book was released on 1993 with total page 1080 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume features the complete text of all regular papers, posters, and summaries of symposia presented at the 15th annual meeting of the Cognitive Science Society.

From Perception to Consciousness

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Publisher : Oxford University Press
ISBN 13 : 019973433X
Total Pages : 439 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (997 download)

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Book Synopsis From Perception to Consciousness by : Jeremy Wolfe

Download or read book From Perception to Consciousness written by Jeremy Wolfe and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2012-05-24 with total page 439 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume includes seminal articles published throughout Anne Treisman's scientific career, which are accompanied by chapters from key figures in the field today. These demonstrate the breadth and depth of her influence on research and theory from psychology to vision and auditory sciences.

Quantifying Sensory and Cognitive Signals in Visual and Frontal Cortex

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Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : pages
Book Rating : 4.:/5 (767 download)

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Book Synopsis Quantifying Sensory and Cognitive Signals in Visual and Frontal Cortex by : Mindy Hwa-Mei Chang

Download or read book Quantifying Sensory and Cognitive Signals in Visual and Frontal Cortex written by Mindy Hwa-Mei Chang and published by . This book was released on 2011 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The visual system has a limited capacity for capturing and processing the richness and intricate detail of the surrounding environment. Visual information that arrives in the retina is converted from relative light intensities to patterns of excitation and then transmitted to a hierarchy of visual areas, which process and combine increasingly complex features of the visual signal to form a visual percept. At each stage, the amount of task or stimulus-related information a neuron can encode depends on the separability of its responses to different conditions. Using electrophysiological recordings of extracellular spiking activity from single neurons in awake behaving monkeys, we explored ways to quantify information in neuronal firing rates in order to address specific questions about sensory and cognitive signals in visual cortex and frontal cortex during different behavioral contexts. In the first study, we addressed a question of latency differences in the visual pathways that process color using a passive fixation task. Color processing occurs generally along two separate chromatic pathways, and previous work has indicated that information from the two pathways arrive with a relative lag in primary visual cortex. However, to form a perception of color, these two pathways must converge at some stage of visual processing. We used information theory to examine the timecourse of chromatic information in neurons further up the visual hierarchy in area V4, which has been implicated as an area with an important role in color processing. We found that on average, information specific to each pathway arrived simultaneously in V4, suggesting that color signals from the different pathways converge at some point within or before V4 in the visual hierarchy. In order to select behaviorally relevant information from the large amount of visual information available, shifting the focus of gaze (via saccadic eye movements) and directing attention provide ways to allocate processing resources to selected locations in visual space. Studies have shown that perceptual enhancements at behaviorally selected spatial locations are accompanied by enhanced processing in visual cortex. The mechanisms by which neurons in the brain control the selection of sensory signals remain unclear. Previous works suggest that the control of attention and eye movements, as well as the modulation of sensory representations, originate in a distributed network that includes the frontal eye field (FEF) in frontal cortex. We studied responses of single neurons recorded separately in area V4 and the FEF of monkeys engaged in different visuospatial selection tasks. In addition to firing rate responses, we examined the trial-to-trial response variability, which has been suggested to reflect behavioral state. During natural vision, the eyes make frequent movements to selected targets. To better understand how these gaze shifts influence visual processing, we examined selective visual processing in area V4 during saccade preparation. We found that V4 neurons show transiently enhanced stimulus discrimination at the saccade target. This enhancement is due in part to changes in response magnitude, but may also be facilitated by reduced variability (increased reliability) of sensory representations. The similarity to effects of covert attention and experimental manipulations of FEF activity provides further evidence that the mechanisms driving visual modulation during saccade preparation and covert spatial attention rely on common neural resources. To explore signals that likely modulate visual responses through feedback connections, we examined the role of FEF neurons in the maintenance and selection of spatial information. In a task that required remembering and directing spatial attention to a cued location while withholding eye movements, neurons in the FEF exhibited spatially selective persistent activity, which continuously tracked the location of the cue. Moreover, this maintenance of spatial information correlated with successful deployment of attention. Despite robust visual and cognitive firing rate modulations that predicted behavioral performance on the task, declines in response variability appeared to be most effectively driven by visual stimulation, rather than spatial working memory or attention. This indicates that, at least in the FEF, behavioral engagement alone is not sufficient to drive changes in variability. Instead, changes in response variability may reflect shifts in the balance between feedforward and recurrent sources of excitatory drive.

Theories of Visual Attention - linking cognition, neuropsychology, and neurophysiology

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Author :
Publisher : Frontiers Media SA
ISBN 13 : 2889196372
Total Pages : 114 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (891 download)

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Book Synopsis Theories of Visual Attention - linking cognition, neuropsychology, and neurophysiology by : Søren Kyllingsbæk

Download or read book Theories of Visual Attention - linking cognition, neuropsychology, and neurophysiology written by Søren Kyllingsbæk and published by Frontiers Media SA. This book was released on 2015-09-02 with total page 114 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Neural Theory of Visual Attention of Bundesen, Habekost, and Kyllingsbæk (2005) was proposed as a neural interpretation of Bundesen’s (1990) theory of visual attention (TVA). In NTVA, visual attention functions via two mechanisms: by dynamic remapping of receptive fields of cortical cells such that more cells are devoted to behaviorally important objects than to less important ones (filtering) and by multiplicative scaling of the level of activation in cells coding for particular features (pigeonholing). NTVA accounts for a wide range of known attentional effects in human performance and a wide range of effects observed in firing rates of single cells in the primate visual system and thus provides a mathematical framework to unify the 2 fields of research. In this Research Topic of Frontiers in Psychology, some of the leading theories of visual attention at both the cognitive, neuropsychological, and neurophysiological levels are presented and evaluated. In addition, the Research Topic encompasses application of the framework of NTVA to various patient populations and to neuroimaging as well as genetic and psychopharmacological studies.