Elsevier

Vision Research

Volume 37, Issue 1, January 1997, Pages 17-23
Vision Research

Research Note Transient Visual Attention is Dominated by the Magnocellular Stream

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Abstract

Robust visual attentional responses are produced by the sudden onset of a visual cue, but the properties of cues that best elicit an attentional response are not fully known. We used the line-motion illusion (Hikosaka et al., 1991) to investigate the optimal cue properties that evoke visual attention. We found that visual attention is driven primarily by the luminance contrast of the cue. Furthermore, by manipulating the spatial, chromatic, and contrast properties of cues, we found that magnocellular (M) stream biased cues always override the response to parvocellular (P) stream biased cues, even when the P stream biased cues are presented first. Our data suggest that cues that preferentially excite the M pathway predominantly capture visual attention. Copyright © 1996 Elsevier Science Ltd.

Keywords

Visual attention
Motion induction
Focal attention
Psychophysics
Parallel pathways

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