Abstract

F. Baluch, L. Itti, Training top-down attention improves performance on a triple conjunction search task, PLoS One, Vol. 5, p. e9127, Feb 2010. [2009 impact factor: 4.351] (Cited by 34)

Abstract: Training has been shown to improve perceptual performance on limited sets of stimuli. However, whether training can generally improve top-down biasing of visual search in a target-nonspecific manner remains unknown. We trained subjects over 10 days on a visual search task, challenging them with a novel target (top-down goal) on every trial, while bottom-up uncertainty (distribution of distractors) remained constant. Subjects became experts at this task, with performance increased two-fold, decreased fixation duration, and stronger tendency to guide gaze towards items with color and spatial frequency (but not necessarily orientation) that resembled the target, suggesting improved general top-down biasing of search.

Themes: Computational Modeling, Model of Bottom-Up Saliency-Based Visual Attention, Human Psychophysics, Human Eye-Tracking Research