UCUCOG21

Attention Sjoerd Stuit

Why Attention? Too much going on!

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Why Attention? Too much going on!

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 What is Attention?

❖ Common use: We use attention when our mind focusses on

something specific…
❖ Badly defined term for collection of ‘attentional phenomena’.
(Allport, 1993; Duncan, 2006)

❖ Attention is the functioning of a limited set of specific

mechanisms in aim of selection (Bundesen & Habekost, 2008).

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 What is Attention?

❖ The main cognitive (high-level) influence on sensory

(low-level) processing
❖ The main sensory influence on cognitive processing
❖ Attention is the selective enhancement of sensory
processing for a specific location or feature
❖ At the expense of other processing

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 Attention: Subdivisions

a b c d

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 Attention: Subdivisions
❖ Subdivision
❖ Endogenous - Exogenous
❖ Same as:
❖ Top down - Bottom up
❖ Voluntary - Involuntary
❖ Overt - Covert
❖ Selective - Divided
❖ Sustained or not
❖ Spatial - Feature
❖ All help you deal with the overwhelming amount of sensory information available

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 What is Attention?

❖ Common use: We use attention when our mind focusses on

something specific…
❖ Badly defined term for collection of ‘attentional phenomena’.
(Allport, 1993; Duncan, 2006)

❖ Attention is the functioning of a limited set of specific

mechanisms in aim of selection (Bundesen & Habekost, 2008).

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 Attention Models

So what are those mechanisms?

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 Attention Models
❖ Mechanisms of attention
❖ Colorcoding: Attended, Neutral, Unattended
Amplitude Width Position
1 1 1

0.8 0.8 0.8

Response

0.6 0.6 0.6

0.4 0.4 0.4

0.2 0.2 0.2

0 0 0
-20 0 20 -20 0 20 -20 0 20

Retinal / feature space

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 Receptive field as a function
Receptive field Profile:
Receptive field Profile: As a function
1 1
‘Top’ View
0.8 0.8

Response
0.6 0.6

0.4 0.4
Y

+ 0.2 0.2

0 0
-20 0 20 -20

X Retinal Space (eccentricity)

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 As Tuning

580 M. J. VAN DER SMAGT, C. WEHRHAHN, AND T. D. ALBRIGHT

1 1

0.8 0.8
FIG. 2. Influence of surroun

Response
0.6 of a V1 neuron to bright 0.6target
to target line in classical recepti
mask. Neuron was sharply tun
0.4 slightly clockwise from0.4 vertical
to target stimuli recorded in the
ent stimulus conditions indicate
0.2 yielded suppression of0.2 respons
ited by target alone. Greatest le
elicited by masks composed of
0 0 p
same orientation and contrast
-20 0 of suppression20 was reduced -20
if t
with respect to orientation or c
bination of orientation and pola
Feature space
no greater or lesser effect tha
peristimulus time histograms
ms, smoothed by a sliding Gaus
!12 SD) showing time-course of
 Attention Models
❖ How does it cause strong signals?
❖ Colorcoding: Attended, Neutral, Unattended
Amplitude Width Position
1 1 1

0.8 0.8 0.8

Response

0.6 0.6 0.6

0.4 0.4 0.4

0.2 0.2 0.2

0 0 0
-20 0 20 -20 0 20 -20 0 20

Retinal / feature space

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Attention: Amplitude

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 Attention: Amplitude

Behaviour:

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Attentional mechanisms

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 Attention Neuronal
❖ Spikes: Attended > Neutral > Unattended

Amplitude Width Position

1 1 1

0.8 0.8 0.8

Response

0.6 0.6 0.6

0.4 0.4 0.4

0.2 0.2 0.2

0 0 0
-20 0 20 -20 0 20 -20 0 20

Retinal / feature space

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 Model 2: RF size
❖ Attention and Receptive field size
❖ (Attended, Neutral, Unattended)

Amplitude Width Position

1 1 1

0.8 0.8 0.8

Response

0.6 0.6 0.6

0.4 0.4 0.4

0.2 0.2 0.2

0 0 0
-20 0 20 -20 0 20 -20 0 20

Retinal / feature space

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 Model 2: RF size
❖ Distance from the fovea for location on the retina (in
degrees)

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 Attention: RF Size

❖ Find 45 Degrees from vertical

❖ Remember, receptive field size fit defines the response

Receptive field Optimal receptive Receptive field

too small field size too big

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Attention: RF Size

Receptive field Optimal receptive Receptive field

too small field size too big

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Attention: RF Size

Receptive field Optimal receptive Receptive field

too small field size too big

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Attention: RF size

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 Attention: RF size

❖ Explain to me what this means when attention is

location based (spatial) ? What happens to
discrimination and to detection thresholds?
❖ Explain to me what this means when attention is
feature based? What happens to discrimination and to
detection thresholds?

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 Attention: RF Size

❖ So what does it mean?

❖ It’s like signal detection
but for space/features:
❖ More narrow, better
discrimination

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 Attention: RF size
❖ Attention results in decreased receptive field size
❖ Increased discrimination at location/preferred feature, decreased detection else where
❖ Attended RF > Neutral RF > Unattended RF

Amplitude Width Position

1 1 1

0.8 0.8 0.8

Response

0.6 0.6 0.6

0.4 0.4 0.4

0.2 0.2 0.2

0 0 0
-20 0 20 -20 0 20 -20 0 20

Retinal / feature space

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 Attention: RF position

❖ Attention changes the receptive field position

Amplitude Width Position

1 1 1

0.8 0.8 0.8

Response

0.6 0.6 0.6

0.4 0.4 0.4

0.2 0.2 0.2

0 0 0
-20 0 20 -20 0 20 -20 0 20

Retinal / feature space

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 Attention: RF position

❖ V2 neuron: shifting RF location

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 Attention: RF position
❖ So attention can move a receptive field’s preferred position
❖ How is this possible?
❖ What do we need to re-evaluate about receptive fields
to implement this possibility??
This model predicts that this effect should happen for all
receptive fields, even when they are not at the attended
location
Does it?

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 Attention: RF position
❖ So attention can move a receptive field’s preferred position
❖ How is this possible?
❖ What do we need to re-evaluate about receptive fields
to implement this possibility??
❖ This model predicts that this effect should happen for all
receptive fields, even when they are not at the attended
location
❖ Does it?

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 Attention: RF position

❖ fMRI experiment
❖ Condition 1: Attend left
❖ Condition 2: Attend right
❖ Estimate receptive field positions for both conditions
❖ Are they different?

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 Attention: RF position

x x

❖ V1 shows small changes in preferred position towards the attended location

compared to the opposite position
❖ As processing progresses, these position changes become larger
❖ By parietal areas, they are very large
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 Attention: RF position
❖ The effect of attention is
❖ Confounding factors different throughout the
visual hierarchy
❖ Later areas are affected
by attention more
❖ ….right…?

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 Remember RF size!
❖ Larger RFs for later visual areas

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 Attention: RF position
❖ Confounding factors

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 Attention: RF position
❖ Hypothetical influence:
❖ The attention field: the influence attention has on the
output of the neuron (group of neurons)

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Attention: RF position

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 Attention: RF position
❖ Attention changes the receptive field position
❖ Attentional effect similar through the processing hierarchy

Amplitude Width Position

1 1 1

0.8 0.8 0.8

Response

0.6 0.6 0.6

0.4 0.4 0.4

0.2 0.2 0.2

0 0 0
-20 0 20 -20 0 20 -20 0 20

Retinal / feature space

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Attentional mechanisms

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 Recap

❖ Attention can lead to selective increases and decreases

of neuronal output
❖ Attention affects receptive field size
❖ sharpens tuning
❖ Attention affects receptive field position
❖ towards attended locations

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then normalized the memory color index by dividing
distance between the control settings and the fruit’s typical
Memory and Perception
b

❖ Hansen et al., 2006:

❖ Make this banana grey!

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B R I E F C O M M U N I C AT I O N S
Memory and Perception
sh
a b en
90 18
o
(L + M) – S (% cone contrast)

45 9
gr
ev
co
0 0

m
–45 –9
m
se
–90
–10 –5 0 5 10
–18
–2 –1 0 1 2 co
L – M (% cone contrast) L – M (% cone contrast) co
an
Figure 2 Color settings. (a) The achromatic
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Interpretation and Perception

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 What have we done

❖ Increasing complexity through integration of sensory

information
❖ A feedforward approach to sensory processing
❖ Note that feedback (e.g. memory, interpretation) can
play a big role
❖ A modelling approach: generalise ideas through models

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