Explore the vast range of titles available.

Objects represent a fundamental selection unit of visual attention. However, at odds with the integrated competition account, our recent study demonstrated that attentional facilitation of constituent features does not spread automatically within an object, but instead depends on the specific task relevance of each feature. Here, we employed a novel experimental design, allowing simultaneous electrophysiological measurements of the allocation of attention to two distinct features (rotation and color) within one object (a square) during both trial-wise and block-wise cued shifts of attention. This was possible through the presentation of a square that evokes two distinct steady-state visual evoked potentials (SSVEPs) for its rotation and its color changes, respectively. Given the continuous oscillatory nature of SSVEPs, we were able to investigate the time course of neural activity in the early visual cortex of the human brain when subjects attended to one of the two features, compared to when the whole object was attended. This approach enabled us to uncover feature-based mechanisms of attention within one object, as well as their interaction with object-based mechanisms. Both behavioral and electrophysiological results indicate a biphasic process composed of an early transient integration of the constituent object features, followed by sustained mechanisms of feature selection with amplification of the to-be-attended feature, followed temporally by suppression of the to-be-ignored feature.

Selective attention to visual stimuli can spread cross‐modally to task‐irrelevant auditory stimuli through either the stimulus‐driven binding mechanism or the representation‐driven priming mechanism. The stimulus‐driven attentional spreading occurs whenever a task‐irrelevant sound is delivered simultaneously with a spatially attended visual stimulus, whereas the representation‐driven attentional spreading occurs only when the object representation of the sound is congruent with that of the to‐be‐attended visual object. The current study recorded event‐related potentials in a space‐selective visual object‐recognition task to examine the exact roles of space‐based visual selective attention in both the stimulus‐driven and representation‐driven cross‐modal attentional spreading, which remain controversial in the literature. Our results yielded that the representation‐driven auditory Nd component (200–400 ms after sound onset) did not differ according to whether the peripheral visual representations of audiovisual target objects were spatially attended or not, but was decreased when the auditory representations of target objects were presented alone. In contrast, the stimulus‐driven auditory Nd component (200–300 ms) was decreased but still prominent when the peripheral visual constituents of audiovisual nontarget objects were spatially unattended. These findings demonstrate not only that the representation‐driven attentional spreading is independent of space‐based visual selective attention and benefits in an all‐or‐nothing manner from object‐based visual selection for actually presented visual representations of target objects, but also that although the stimulus‐driven attentional spreading is modulated by space‐based visual selective attention, attending to visual modality per se is more likely to be the endogenous determinant of the stimulus‐driven attentional spreading. The present study found that the representation‐driven attentional spreading was independent of space‐based visual selective attention. The stimulus‐driven attentional spreading was modulated by space‐based visual selective attention but still prominent when the visual constituents of audiovisual nontarget objects were spatially unattended. These findings suggest not only that the representation‐driven attentional spreading benefits in an all‐or‐nothing manner from object‐based visual selection for actually presented visual representations of target objects, but also that although the stimulus‐driven attentional spreading is modulated by space‐based visual selective attention, attending to visual modality per se is more likely to be the endogenous determinant of the stimulus‐driven attentional spreading.

Numerous studies have indicated that both the broaden-and-build model and the motivational dimensional model emphasize the impact of emotion on spatial attention by altering the attentional scope. However, no prior research has investigated the impact of emotional valence and motivational intensity on spatial attention within the same paradigm. Furthermore, object-based attention, characterized by distinct neural mechanisms from space-based attention and also susceptible to attentional scope, represents a major pattern of selective attention. Nevertheless, it is still unclear whether and how emotional valence and motivation play a role in object-based attentional selection. Therefore, the present study aimed to explore these areas. Using a two-rectangle paradigm, Experiment 1 found that motivational intensity modulated space-based effects, whereas emotional valence modulated object-based effects. Experiment 2 used a traditional spatial cueing paradigm to further study the stability of modulating effect of motivation intensity on space-based attention, yielding results consistent with those of Experiment 1 . The present study indicated that the broaden-and-build model and motivational dimensional model were not either one or the other, but both played a role in object- and space-based attention. This study provides crucial empirical evidence for theoretical complementation and integration of emotional attention.

Decades of research have provided evidence that object representations contribute to attentional selection. However, most evidence for object-based attentional allocation is drawn from studies employing the two-rectangle paradigm where the target distribution is biased towards the cued object. It is thus unclear whether object-based attentional selection is from object representations or a consequence of spatial attention based on statistical imbalances. Here, we investigate the extent to which target frequency modulates object-based attention by systematically manipulating the frequency of target appearance in a particular spatial location within objects to equate spatial allocation, bias specific spatial locations, or bias objects. In four experiments, participants were presented with a variant of the two-rectangle paradigm in which one end of a rectangle was cued and performed a target discrimination task. Critically, the target location probabilities were parametrically manipulated. The target could appear equally in all ends within the objects (valid, invalid within-object, invalid between-object, diagonal) (Experiment 1) or with overall equality between objects but biased towards the invalid locations (Experiment 2). The target could also appear in three locations (valid, invalid within-object, invalid between-object) distributed equally between objects but biased towards the invalid between-object location (Experiment 3) or with an overall bias towards the invalid between-object location (Experiment 4). We observed that while objects bias attention, spatial biases are prioritized over object representations. Combined results suggest that object-based contribution to attentional guidance is the result of both spatial probabilities and object representations.

Stimuli associated with high rewards evoke stronger neuronal activity than stimuli associated with lower rewards in many brain regions. It is not well understood how these reward effects influence activity in sensory cortices that represent low-level stimulus features. Here, we investigated the effects of reward information in the primary visual cortex (area V1) of monkeys. We found that the reward value of a stimulus relative to the value of other stimuli is a good predictor of V1 activity. Relative value biases the competition between stimuli, just as has been shown for selective attention. The neuronal latency of this reward value effect in V1 was similar to the latency of attentional influences. Moreover, V1 neurons with a strong value effect also exhibited a strong attention effect, which implies that relative value and top–down attention engage overlapping, if not identical, neuronal selection mechanisms. Our findings demonstrate that the effects of reward value reach down to the earliest sensory processing levels of the cerebral cortex and imply that theories about the effects of reward coding and top–down attention on visual representations should be unified.

When responding to the identity of a visual target, nearby stimuli ( flankers ) that are associated with the same response as the target cause faster and more accurate responding than flankers that are associated with different responses. Because this flanker-congruence effect (FCE) decreases with increasing target-flanker separation, it was thought to reflect limited precision of spatial selection mechanisms. Later studies, however, showed that FCEs are larger when the target and flankers are the same color compared to when they are different colors. This led to the group selection hypothesis , which states that flankers are perceptually grouped with the target and are obligatorily selected along with it, regardless of spatial separation. An alternative hypothesis, the image segmentation hypothesis , states that feature differences facilitate the segmentation of visual information into relevant and irrelevant parts, thereby mitigating the limitations of spatial precision of selection mechanisms. We test between these hypotheses using a design in which targets and flankers are grouped or not grouped, while holding feature differences in the stimulus constant. Contrary to earlier results, we found that same-colored flankers do not yield larger FCEs than different-colored flankers when feature differences are held constant. We conclude that similarity effects on the FCE reflect differential support for image segmentation, on which selection depends, rather than the obligatory selection of perceptually grouped flankers and targets.

Reward has been shown to influence selective attention, yet previous research has primarily focused on rewards associated with specific locations or features, with limited investigation into the impact of a reward object on object-based attention (OBA). Therefore, it remains unclear whether objects previously associated with rewards affect OBA. To address this issue, we conducted two experiments using a paradigm that combined a reward training phase with a modified two-rectangle paradigm. The results indicate that a reward object modulates both space-based attention (SBA) and OBA. When cues appear on a reward object, the effects of both SBA and OBA are amplified compared to when cues appear on a no-reward object. This finding supports the value-driven attentional capture (VDAC) theory, which suggests that a reward object gain enhanced saliency to capture attention, thereby providing a theoretical support for the treatment of conditions such as drug addiction.

Visual input typically includes a myriad of objects, some of which are selected for further processing. While these objects vary in shape and size, most evidence supporting object-based guidance of attention is drawn from paradigms employing two identical objects. Importantly, object size is a readily perceived stimulus dimension, and whether it modulates the distribution of attention remains an open question. Across four experiments, the size of the objects in the display was manipulated in a modified version of the two-rectangle paradigm. In Experiment 1 , two identical parallel rectangles of two sizes (thin or thick) were presented. Experiments 2 – 4 employed identical trapezoids (each having a thin and thick end), inverted in orientation. In the experiments, one end of an object was cued and participants performed either a T/L discrimination or a simple target-detection task. Combined results show that, in addition to the standard object-based attentional advantage, there was a further attentional benefit for processing information contained in the thick versus thin end of objects. Additionally, eye-tracking measures demonstrated increased saccade precision towards thick object ends, suggesting that Fitts’s Law may play a role in object-based attentional shifts. Taken together, these results suggest that object-based attentional selection is modulated by object width.

Selective attention and working memory are inter-dependent core cognitive functions. It is critical to allocate attention on selected targets during the capacity-limited working memory processes to fulfill the goal-directed behavior. The trends of research on both topics are increasing exponentially in recent years, and it is considered that selective attention and working memory share similar underlying neural mechanisms. Different types of attention orientation in working memory are introduced by distinctive cues, and the means using retrospective cues are strengthened currently as it is manipulating the representation in memory, instead of the perceptual representation. The cognitive and neural mechanisms of the retro-cue effects are further reviewed, as well as the potential molecular mechanism. The frontal-parietal network that is involved in both attention and working memory is also the neural candidate for attention orientation during working memory. Neural oscillations in the gamma and alpha/beta oscillations may respectively be employed for the feedforward and feedback information transfer between the sensory cortices and the association cortices. Dopamine and serotonin systems might interact with each other subserving the communication between memory and attention. In conclusion, representations which attention shifts towards are strengthened, while representations which attention moves away from are degraded. Studies on attention orientation during working memory indicates the flexibility of the processes of working memory, and the beneficial way that overcome the limited capacity of working memory.

Selective attention is an intrinsic component of perceptual representation in a visual system that is hierarchically organized. Modulatory signals originate in brain regions that represent behavioral goals; these signals specify which perceptual objects are to be represented by sensory neurons that are subject to contextual modulation. Attention can be deployed to spatial locations, features, or objects, and corresponding modulatory signals must be targeted within these domains. Open questions include how nonspatial perceptual domains are modulated by attention and how abstract goals are transformed into targeted modulatory signals.