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Nowack L, Müller HJ, Conci M. Changes in attentional breadth scale with the demands of Kanizsa-figure object completion-evidence from pupillometry. Atten Percept Psychophys 2024; 86:439-456. [PMID: 37407797 PMCID: PMC10805936 DOI: 10.3758/s13414-023-02750-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 06/13/2023] [Indexed: 07/07/2023]
Abstract
The present study investigated whether the integration of separate parts into a whole-object representation varies with the amount of available attentional resources. To this end, two experiments were performed, which required observers to maintain central fixation while searching in peripheral vision for a target among various distractor configurations. The target could either be a "grouped" whole-object Kanizsa figure, or an "ungrouped" configuration of identical figural parts, but which do not support object completion processes to the same extent. In the experiments, accuracies and changes in pupil size were assessed, with the latter reflecting a marker of the covert allocation of attention in the periphery. Experiment 1 revealed a performance benefit for grouped (relative to ungrouped) targets, which increased with decreasing distance from fixation. By contrast, search for ungrouped targets was comparably poor in accuracy without revealing any eccentricity-dependent variation. Moreover, measures of pupillary dilation mirrored this eccentricity-dependent advantage in localizing grouped targets. Next, in Experiment 2, an additional attention-demanding foveal task was introduced in order to further reduce the availability of attentional resources for the peripheral detection task. This additional task hampered performance overall, alongside with corresponding pupil size changes. However, there was still a substantial benefit for grouped over ungrouped targets in both the behavioral and the pupillometric data. This shows that perceptual grouping scales with the allocation of attention even when only residual attentional resources are available to trigger the representation of a complete (target) object, thus illustrating that object completion operates in the "near absence" of attention.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leonie Nowack
- Department of Psychology, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Leopoldstr. 13, D-80802, München, Germany.
| | - Hermann J Müller
- Department of Psychology, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Leopoldstr. 13, D-80802, München, Germany
| | - Markus Conci
- Department of Psychology, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Leopoldstr. 13, D-80802, München, Germany
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Yang J, Sui L, Wu H, Wu Q, Mei X, Wu X. Interference of Illusory Contour Perception by a Distractor. Front Psychol 2021; 12:526972. [PMID: 34177673 PMCID: PMC8231925 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.526972] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/15/2020] [Accepted: 04/22/2021] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
The visual system is capable of recognizing objects when object information is widely separated in space, as revealed by the Kanizsa-type illusory contours (ICs). Attentional involvement in perception of ICs is an important topic, and the present study examined whether and how the processing of ICs is interfered with by a distractor. Discrimination between thin and short deformations of an illusory circle was investigated in the absence or presence of a central dynamic patch, with difficulty of discrimination varied in three levels (easy, medium, and hard). Reaction time (RT) was significantly shorter in the absence compared to the presence of the distractor in the easy and medium conditions. Correct rate (CR) was significantly higher in the absence compared to the presence of the distractor in the easy condition, and the magnitude of the difference between CRs of distracted and non-distracted responses significantly reduced as task difficulty increased. These results suggested that perception of ICs is more likely to be vulnerable to distraction when more attentional resources remain available. The present finding supports that attention is engaged in perception of ICs and that distraction of IC processing is associated with perceptual load.
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Affiliation(s)
- Junkai Yang
- Laboratory for Behavioral and Regional Finance, Guangdong University of Finance, Guangzhou, China.,Department of Psychology, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Lisen Sui
- Department of Neurosurgery, Guangdong Provincial Hospital of Chinese Medicine, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, China
| | - Hongyuan Wu
- Department of Psychology, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Qian Wu
- Department of Psychology, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Xiaolin Mei
- Department of Psychology, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Xiang Wu
- Department of Psychology, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
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Kasai T, Kitajo K, Makinae S. Behavioral and electrophysiological investigations of effects of temporal regularity on illusory-figure processing. Brain Res 2021; 1766:147521. [PMID: 34015359 DOI: 10.1016/j.brainres.2021.147521] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/28/2020] [Revised: 04/22/2021] [Accepted: 05/11/2021] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
The allocation of limited processing resources at an appropriate timing should be critical for selecting incoming signals. On the other hand, perceptual organization, which relatively automatically integrates fragmentary elements into coherent objects, should also be critical to decrease the processing load. By indexing behavioral measures and event-related potentials (ERPs), this study examined the effects of temporal regularity, which makes it possible to predict the time at which stimuli occur, on task-unrelated early processing of perceptual organization. Twenty-six volunteers participated in a task to discriminate central targets that were simultaneously but infrequently presented inside a Kanizsa-type illusory figure (KF) or a control stimulus (CS) without perception of an illusory figure. Inter-stimulus intervals were fixed or varied in different blocks. Both temporal regularity and the illusory figure accelerated behavioral responses and enlarged negative ERP amplitudes at 120-160 ms and 280-320 ms post-stimulus over posterior electrode sites. However, importantly, there was no evidence indicating that temporal regularity modulates illusory-figure processing. The finding may suggest that temporal expectation operates in parallel with implicit perceptual organization, although further examinations that involve spatial attention or individual differences are required.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tetsuko Kasai
- Research Faculty of Education, Hokkaido University, Japan; RIKEN Center for Brain Science, Japan.
| | - Keiichi Kitajo
- RIKEN Center for Brain Science, Japan; National Institute for Physiological Sciences, Japan; Department of Physiological Sciences, School of Life Science, The Graduate University for Advanced Studies (SOKENDAI), Japan
| | - Shiika Makinae
- Graduate School of Education, Hokkaido University, Japan; Institute of Developmental Science, Miyagi Gakuin Women's University, Japan
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Nowack L, Finke K, Biel AL, Keller I, Müller HJ, Conci M. Attention capture by salient object groupings in the neglected visual field. Cortex 2021; 138:228-240. [PMID: 33730606 DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2021.02.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/07/2020] [Revised: 01/05/2021] [Accepted: 02/12/2021] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
The integration of fragmentary parts into coherent whole objects has been proposed either to rely on the availability of attentional resources or to arise automatically, that is, from preattentive processing (prior to the engagement of selective attention). In the present study, these two alternative accounts were tested in a group of neglect patients with right-hemisphere parietal brain damage and associated deficits of selective attention in the left (visual) hemispace. The reported experiment employed a search task that required detection of targets in the left and/or right hemifields, which were embedded in configurations that consisted of variants of Kanizsa figures. The results showed that a salient, grouped Kanizsa triangle presented within the unattended, left hemifield can substantially improve contralesional target detection, though the very same triangle configuration does not facilitate target detection in the impaired hemifield when presented together with an ipsilesional, but non-salient (i.e., structurally non-integrated, isolated) target. That is, attention is captured by the grouped object in the impaired hemispace only when it is not engaged in the processing of an (isolated) object in the attended hemispace. This demonstrates that both part-to-whole-object integration and search guidance by salient, integrated objects crucially require attentional resources.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leonie Nowack
- Department of Psychology, Ludwig-Maximilians-University, Munich, Germany.
| | - Kathrin Finke
- Department of Psychology, Ludwig-Maximilians-University, Munich, Germany; Hans Berger Department of Neurology, University Hospital Jena, Germany
| | - Anna Lena Biel
- Department of Psychology, Ludwig-Maximilians-University, Munich, Germany
| | - Ingo Keller
- Department of Neuropsychology, Medical Park Bad Feilnbach, Germany
| | - Hermann J Müller
- Department of Psychology, Ludwig-Maximilians-University, Munich, Germany
| | - Markus Conci
- Department of Psychology, Ludwig-Maximilians-University, Munich, Germany
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Object-based grouping benefits without integrated feature representations in visual working memory. Atten Percept Psychophys 2020; 83:1357-1374. [PMID: 33073323 PMCID: PMC8049898 DOI: 10.3758/s13414-020-02153-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 09/16/2020] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Visual working memory (VWM) is typically considered to represent complete objects—that is, separate parts of an object are maintained as bound objects. Yet it remains unclear whether and how the features of disparate parts are integrated into a whole-object memory representation. Using a change detection paradigm, the present study investigated whether VWM performance varies as a function of grouping strength for features that either determine the grouped object (orientation) or that are not directly grouping relevant (color). Our results showed a large grouping benefit for grouping-relevant orientation features and, additionally, a much smaller, albeit reliable, benefit for grouping-irrelevant color features when both were potentially task relevant. By contrast, when color was the only task-relevant feature, no grouping benefit from the orientation feature was revealed both under lower or relatively high demands for precision. Together, these results indicate that different features of an object are stored independently in VWM; and an emerging, higher-order grouping structure does not automatically lead to an integrated representation of all available features of an object. Instead, an object benefit depends on the specific task demands, which may generate a linked, task-dependent representation of independent features.
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Chen S, Nie QY, Müller HJ, Conci M. Kanizsa-figure object completion gates selection in the attentional blink. Q J Exp Psychol (Hove) 2019; 72:1741-1755. [PMID: 30501573 DOI: 10.1177/1747021818820009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
Previous work has demonstrated that perceptual grouping modulates the selectivity of attention across space. By contrast, how grouping influences the allocation of attention over time is much less clear. This study investigated this issue, using an attentional blink (AB) paradigm to test how grouping influences the initial selection and the subsequent short-term memory consolidation of a target. On a given trial, two red Kanizsa-type targets (T1 and T2) with varying grouping strength were embedded in a rapid serial visual presentation stream of irrelevant distractors. Our results showed the typical AB finding: impaired identification of T2 when presented close in time following T1. Moreover, the AB was modulated by the T2 grouping-independently of the T1 structure-with stronger grouping leading to a decreased AB and overall higher performance. Conversely, a reversed pattern, namely an increased AB with increasing grouping strength was observed when the Kanizsa figure was not task-relevant. Together, these findings suggest that the grouping benefit emerges at early perceptual stages, automatically drawing attentional resources, thereby leading to either sustained benefits or transient costs-depending on the task-relevance of the grouped object. This indicates that grouping modulates processing of objects in time.
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Affiliation(s)
- Siyi Chen
- Allgemeine und Experimentelle Psychologie, Department Psychologie, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Munich, Germany
| | - Qi-Yang Nie
- Allgemeine und Experimentelle Psychologie, Department Psychologie, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Munich, Germany
| | - Hermann J Müller
- Allgemeine und Experimentelle Psychologie, Department Psychologie, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Munich, Germany
| | - Markus Conci
- Allgemeine und Experimentelle Psychologie, Department Psychologie, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Munich, Germany
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Conci M, Groß J, Keller I, Müller HJ, Finke K. Attention as the ‘glue’ for object integration in parietal extinction. Cortex 2018; 101:60-72. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2017.12.024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/15/2017] [Revised: 11/17/2017] [Accepted: 12/23/2017] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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Naughtin CK, Mattingley JB, Dux PE. Early information processing contributions to object individuation revealed by perception of illusory figures. J Neurophysiol 2016; 116:2513-2522. [PMID: 27605529 PMCID: PMC5133310 DOI: 10.1152/jn.00082.2016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/29/2016] [Accepted: 09/04/2016] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
To isolate multiple coherent objects from their surrounds, each object must be represented as a stable perceptual entity across both time and space. Recent theoretical and empirical work has proposed that this process of object individuation is a mid-level operation that emerges around 200-300 ms after stimulus onset. However, this hypothesis is based on paradigms that have potentially obscured earlier effects. Furthermore, no study to date has directly assessed whether object individuation occurs for task-irrelevant objects. In the present study we used electroencephalography (EEG) to measure the time course of individuation, for stimuli both within and outside the focus of attention, to assess the information processing stage at which object individuation arises for both types of objects. We developed a novel paradigm involving items defined by illusory contours, which allowed us to vary the number of to-be-individuated objects while holding the physical elements of the display constant (a design characteristic not present in earlier work). As early as 100 ms after stimulus onset, event-related potentials tracked the number of objects in the attended hemifield, but not those in the unattended hemifield. By contrast, both attended and unattended objects could be individuated at a later stage. Our findings challenge recent conceptualizations of the time course of object individuation and suggest that this process arises earlier for attended than unattended items, implying that voluntary spatial attention influences the time course of this operation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claire K Naughtin
- School of Psychology, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland, Australia; and
| | - Jason B Mattingley
- School of Psychology, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland, Australia; and
- Queensland Brain Institute, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland, Australia
| | - Paul E Dux
- School of Psychology, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland, Australia; and
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Spatial and non-spatial aspects of visual attention: Interactive cognitive mechanisms and neural underpinnings. Neuropsychologia 2016; 92:1-6. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2016.08.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
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