A method of studying the dynamics of visual attention in humans at different stages of examining and recognizing complex images is described. The characteristics of the method include presenting dynamically formed whole images and distractors in the foveal area of the visual field. Experimental data on the effects of acclimation to distractors, the bimodal distribution of fixation duration when distractors are used, and the relationship between the effect of the distractor and the complexity of the target image are presented. Most EEG leads, except the occipital leads, showed significant decreases in the latent period of the P350 component of fixation-linked potentials on simultaneous presentation of whole images and distractors. The potential for using these results to create work-oriented tests for assessment of the state of visual attention in human operators without interfering with their work is discussed.
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Translated from Rossiiskii Fiziologicheskii Zhurnal imeni I. M. Sechenova, Vol. 101, No. 10, pp. 1202–1212, October, 2015.
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Koltunova, T.I., Podladchikova, L.N., Shaposhnikov, D.G. et al. Dynamics of the Duration of Gaze Fixation and Event-Related Potentials on Presentation of Fading-In Images and Distractors. Neurosci Behav Physi 47, 321–327 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11055-017-0400-8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11055-017-0400-8