Wiegand, I. and Tollner, T. and Habekost, T. and Dyrholm, M. and Muller, Hermann J. and Finke, K. (2014) Distinct neural markers of TVA-based visual processing speed and short-term storage capacity parameters. Cerebral Cortex 24 (8), pp. 1967-1978. ISSN 1047-3211.
Abstract
An individual's visual attentional capacity is characterized by 2 central processing resources, visual perceptual processing speed and visual short-term memory (vSTM) storage capacity. Based on Bundesen's theory of visual attention (TVA), independent estimates of these parameters can be obtained from mathematical modeling of performance in a whole report task. The framework's neural interpretation (NTVA) further suggests distinct brain mechanisms underlying these 2 functions. Using an interindividual difference approach, the present study was designed to establish the respective ERP correlates of both parameters. Participants with higher compared to participants with lower processing speed were found to show significantly reduced visual N1 responses, indicative of higher efficiency in early visual processing. By contrast, for participants with higher relative to lower vSTM storage capacity, contralateral delay activity over visual areas was enhanced while overall nonlateralized delay activity was reduced, indicating that holding (the maximum number of) items in vSTM relies on topographically specific sustained activation within the visual system. Taken together, our findings show that the 2 main aspects of visual attentional capacity are reflected in separable neurophysiological markers, validating a central assumption of NTVA.
Metadata
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Keyword(s) / Subject(s): | cognitive efficiency, contralateral delay activity, individual differences, theory of visual attention, visual N1 |
| School: | Birkbeck Faculties and Schools > Faculty of Science > School of Psychological Sciences |
| Depositing User: | Administrator |
| Date Deposited: | 09 Jan 2015 16:13 |
| Last Modified: | 02 Aug 2023 17:14 |
| URI: | https://eprints.bbk.ac.uk/id/eprint/11412 |
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