title: The Neural Mechanisms of Prediction in Visual Search.
abstract: The speed of visual search depends on bottom-up stimulus features (e.g., we quickly locate a red item among blue distractors), but it is also facilitated by the presence of top-down perceptual predictions about the item. Here, we identify the nature, source, and neuronal substrate of the predictions that speed up resumed visual search. Human subjects were presented with a visual search array that was repeated up to 4 times, while brain activity was recorded using magnetoencephalography (MEG). Behaviorally, we observed a bimodal reaction time distribution for resumed visual search, indicating that subjects were extraordinarily rapid on a proportion of trials. MEG data demonstrated that these rapid-response trials were associated with a prediction of (1) target location, as reflected by alpha-band (8-12 Hz) lateralization; and (2) target identity, as reflected by beta-band (15-30 Hz) lateralization. Moreover, we show that these predictions are likely generated in a network consisting of medial superior frontal cortex and right temporo-parietal junction. These findings underscore the importance and nature of perceptual hypotheses for efficient visual search.
authors.affiliation: Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition, and Behaviour, Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging, Radboud University, 6525 EN Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Eelke
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Spaak
authors.affiliation: Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition, and Behaviour, Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging, Radboud University, 6525 EN Nijmegen, The Netherlands Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA.
authors.forename: Yvonne
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Fonken
authors.affiliation: Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition, and Behaviour, Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging, Radboud University, 6525 EN Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Ole
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Jensen
authors.affiliation: Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition, and Behaviour, Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging, Radboud University, 6525 EN Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Floris P
authors.initials: FP
authors.lastname: de Lange
keywords: MEG; expectation; perception; rapid resumption; visual search