Attention periodically samples competing stimuli during binocular rivalry

The attentional sampling hypothesis suggests that attention rhythmically enhances sensory processing when attending to a single (~8 Hz), or multiple (~4 Hz) objects. Here we investigated using binocular rivalry whether attention samples sensory representations that are not part of the conscious perc...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inbioRxiv
Main Authors Davidson, Matthew James, Alais, David, Van Boxtel, Jeroen Ja, Tsuchiya, Naotsugu
Format Paper
LanguageEnglish
Published Cold Spring Harbor Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press 05.07.2018
Subjects
Attention
Binocular vision
Consciousness
EEG
Information processing
Sampling
Sensory integration
Visual perception
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Summary:The attentional sampling hypothesis suggests that attention rhythmically enhances sensory processing when attending to a single (~8 Hz), or multiple (~4 Hz) objects. Here we investigated using binocular rivalry whether attention samples sensory representations that are not part of the conscious percept, during competition for perceptual dominance. When crossmodally cued toward a conscious image, subsequent changes in consciousness occurred at ~8 Hz, consistent with rates of undivided attentional sampling. However, when attention was cued toward the suppressed image, changes in consciousness slowed to ~3.5 Hz, indicating the division of attention away from the conscious visual image. In the electroencephalogram, we found that at 3.5 and 8 Hz, the strength of inter-trial phase coherence over fronto-temporal and parieto-occipital regions correlated with behavioral measures of changes in perception. When cues were not task-relevant, these effects disappeared, confirming that perceptual changes were dependent upon the allocation of attention, and that attention can flexibly sample away from a conscious image in a task-dependent manner. Footnotes * Revised all behavioural figures (now Figures 1 and 2) to show we are focusing on the difference in binocular rivalry dynamics during attended cues compared to during visual only periods, and on the effects of attentional sampling upon the first switch after cue onset. Revised the power spectra and EEG figures (Figure 3) to clarify cluster-based corrections for multiple comparisons. Multiple new analyses, supplemental materials, and commentary.
DOI:10.1101/253740