title: Covert attention increases contrast sensitivity: Psychophysical, neurophysiological and neuroimaging studies.
abstract: This chapter focuses on the effect of covert spatial attention on contrast sensitivity, a basic visual dimension where the best mechanistic understanding of attention has been achieved. I discuss how models of contrast sensitivity, as well as the confluence of psychophysical, single-unit recording, and neuroimaging studies, suggest that attention increases contrast sensitivity via contrast gain, an effect akin to a change in the physical contrast stimulus. I suggest possible research directions and ways to strengthen the interaction among different levels of analysis to further our understanding of visual attention.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology & Center for Neural Science, New York University, 6 Washington Pl. 8th floor, New York, NY 10003, USA.
authors.forename: Marisa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Carrasco
mesh_terms: D000200:Action Potentials / Q000502:physiology; D000818:Animals; D001288:Attention / Q000502:physiology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D015350:Contrast Sensitivity / Q000502:physiology*; D003952:Diagnostic Imaging / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods; D009474:Neurons / Q000502:physiology*; D011601:Psychophysics; D013028:Space Perception / Q000502:physiology; D013997:Time Factors; D014793:Visual Cortex / Q000098:blood supply / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology; D014794:Visual Fields / Q000502:physiology