title: A need for more information uptake but not focused attention to access basic-level representations.
abstract: Complex visual scenes can be categorized at the superordinate level (e.g., animal/non-animal or vehicle/non-vehicle) without focused attention. However, rapid visual categorization at the basic level (e.g., dog/non-dog or car/non-car) requires additional processing time. Such finer categorization might, thus, require attentional resources. This hypothesis was tested in the current study with a dual-task paradigm in which subjects performed a basic-level categorization task in peripheral vision either alone (single-task condition) or concurrently with an attentionally demanding letter discrimination task (dual-task condition). Our results indicate that basic-level categorization of either biological (dog/non-dog animal) or man-made (car/non-car vehicle) stimuli requires more information uptake but can, nevertheless, be performed when attention is not fully available, presumably because it is supported by hardwired, specialized neuronal networks.
authors.affiliation: Centre de Recherche Cerveau and Cognition, UPS, Université de Toulouse, Toulouse,  France.
authors.forename: Marlene
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Poncet
authors.forename: Leila
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Reddy
authors.forename: Michele
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fabre-Thorpe
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001288:Attention / Q000502:physiology*; D003213:Conditioning, Psychological / Q000502:physiology; D004192:Discrimination, Psychological / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D005556:Form Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009415:Nerve Net / Q000502:physiology; D010364:Pattern Recognition, Visual / Q000502:physiology*; D010775:Photic Stimulation / Q000379:methods; D055815:Young Adult