Abstract
VISUAL spatial resolution is limited by factors ranging from optics to neuronal filters in the visual cortex1,2, but it is not known to what extent it is also limited by the resolving power of attention. To investigate this, we studied adaptation to lines of specific orientation, a process that occurs in primary visual cortex3. When a single grating is presented in the periphery of the visual field, human observers are aware of its orientation, but when it is flanked by other similar gratings ('crowding'), its orientation becomes impossible to discern4,5. Nevertheless, we show that orientation-specific adaptation is not affected by crowding, implying that spatial resolution is limited by an attentional filter acting beyond the primary visual cortex. Consistent with this, we find that attentional resolution is greater in the lower than in the upper visual field, whereas there is no correspond-ing asymmetry in the primary visual cortex. We suggest that the attentional filter acts in one or more higher visual cortical areas to restrict the availability of visual information to conscious awareness6.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Campbell, F. W. & Gubisch, R. W. J. Physiol. 186, 558–578 (1966).
He, S., Smallman, H. S. & MacLeod, D. I. A. Invest. Ophthalmol. Vis. Sci. Suppl. 36, 2010 (1995).
Blakemore, C. B. & Campbell, F. W. J. Physiol. 203, 237–260 (1969).
Bouma, H. Nature 226, 177–178 (1970).
Toet, A. & Levi, D. M. Vision Res. 32, 1349–1357 (1992).
Crick, F. & Koch, C. Nature 375, 121–123 (1995).
Chambers, L. & Wolford, G. Bull. Psychonom. Soc. 21, 459–461 (1983).
Kolb, F. C. & Braun, J. Nature 377, 336–338 (1995).
Chastain, G. Psychol. Res. 45, 147–156 (1983).
Horton, J. C. & Hoyt, W. F. Archives Ophthalmol. 109, 816–824 (1991).
Sereno, M. I. et al. Science 268, 889–893 (1995).
DeYoe, E. A. et al. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 93, 2382–2386 (1988).
Treisman, A. Q. J. Exp. Psychol. Human Exp Psychol. 40, 201–237 (1988).
Pylyshyn, Z. W. & Storm, R. W. Spatial Vis. 3, 179–197 (1988).
Intriligator, J., Nakayama, K. & Cavanagh, P. Invest. Ophthalmol. Vis. Sci. Suppl. 32, 1040 (1991).
Butler, B. E. & Currie, A. Psychol. Res. 48, 201–209 (1986).
Taylor, S. G. & Brown, D. R. Percept. Psychophys. 12, 97–99 (1972).
Previc, F. H. Behav. Brain Sci. 13, 519–575 (1990).
Christman, S. D. Bull. Psychonom. Soc. 31, 275–278 (1993).
Rubin, N., Nakayama, K. & Shapley, R. Science 271, 651–653 (1996).
Gazzaniga, M. S. & Ladavas, E. in Neurophysiological and Neuropsychological Aspects of Spatial Neglect (ed. Jeannerod, M.) 203–213 (Elsevier, Amsterdam, 1987).
Posner, M. I. Neuropsychol. Rehab. 4, 183–187 (1994).
Maunsell, J. H. & Newsome, W. T. Annu. Rev. Neurosci. 10, 363–401 (1987).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
He, S., Cavanagh, P. & Intriligator, J. Attentional resolution and the locus of visual awareness. Nature 383, 334–337 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1038/383334a0
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/383334a0
- Springer Nature Limited
This article is cited by
-
The functional relevance of visuospatial processing speed across the lifespan
Cognitive Research: Principles and Implications (2023)
-
Abnormal basic visual processing functions in binocular fusion disorders
Scientific Reports (2023)
-
In Defense of Jñānalakṣaṇā Pratyāsatti
Journal of Indian Council of Philosophical Research (2023)
-
Superior colliculus saccade motor bursts do not dictate movement kinematics
Communications Biology (2022)
-
Ensemble perception without phenomenal awareness of elements
Scientific Reports (2022)