Automatic spread of attentional response modulation along Gestalt criteria in primary visual cortex

Abstract

Using direct recordings in monkeys, the authors find that attention spreads to elements when gestalt cues indicate that it is part of an attended object, even when these elements themselves are outside of the focus of attention. This finding supports object-based attentional theories. Visual attention can select spatial locations, features and objects. Theories of object-based attention claim that attention enhances the representation of all parts of an object, even parts that are not task relevant. We recorded neuronal activity in area V1 of macaque monkeys and observed an automatic spread of attention to image elements outside of the attentional focus when they were bound to an attended stimulus by Gestalt criteria.