Serial grouping of 2D-image regions with object-based attention in humans.
After an initial stage of local analysis within the retina and early visual pathways, the human visual system creates a structured representation of the visual scene by co-selecting image elements that are part of behaviorally relevant objects. The mechanisms underlying this perceptual organization process are only partially understood. We here investigate the time-course of perceptual grouping of two-dimensional image-regions by measuring the reaction times of human participants and report that it is associated with the gradual spread of object-based attention. Attention spreads fastest over large and homogeneous areas and is slowed down at locations that require small-scale processing. We find that the time-course of the object-based selection process is well explained by a 'growth-cone' model, which selects surface elements in an incremental, scale-dependent manner. We discuss how the visual cortical hierarchy can implement this scale-dependent spread of object-based attention, leveraging the different receptive field sizes in distinct cortical areas.
Department of Vision and Cognition, Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Danique
0000-0003-3835-5977
D
Jeurissen
Department of Vision and Cognition, Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Matthew W
0000-0001-5731-579X
MW
Self
Department of Vision and Cognition, Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.|Department of Psychiatry, Academic Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.|Department of Integrative Neurophysiology, Centre for Neurogenomics and Cognitive Research, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Pieter R
0000-0002-1625-0034
PR
Roelfsema
D001288:Attention; D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D011930:Reaction Time; D014793:Visual Cortex / Q000502:physiology; D014795:Visual Pathways / Q000502:physiology; D014796:Visual Perception
growth-cone model; human; neuroscience; object-based attention; perceptual grouping; receptive field size; surface perception