Note to users. If you're seeing this message, it means that your browser cannot find this page's style/presentation instructions -- or possibly that you are using a browser that does not support current Web standards. Find out more about why this message is appearing, and what you can do to make your experience of our site the best it can be.

Science 7 June 1985:
Vol. 228. no. 4704, pp. 1217 - 1219
DOI: 10.1126/science.4001937
Prev | Table of Contents | Next

Articles

Science, Vol 228, Issue 4704, 1217-1219
Copyright © 1985 by American Association for the Advancement of Science

articles

"Where" and "what" in vision

D Sagi and B Julesz

The mixture of a few horizontal and vertical line segments embedded in an aggregate of diagonal line segments can be rapidly counted and their positions rapidly determined by a parallel (preattentive) process. However, the discrimination between horizontal and vertical orientation (that is, discrimination of a single conspicuous feature) requires serial search by focal attention. Under recent theories of attention, focal attention has been assumed to be required for the recognition of different combinations of features. According to the findings of this experiment, knowing "what" even a single feature is requires time-consuming search by focal attention. Only knowing "where" a target it is mediated by a parallel process.


THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
Perceptual Learning of Object Shape.
D. Golcu and C. D. Gilbert (2009)
J. Neurosci. 29, 13621-13629
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Studying visual search using systems factorial methodology with target-distractor similarity as the factor.
M. FIFIC, J. T. TOWNSEND, and A. EIDELS (2008)
Atten Percept Psychophys 70, 583-603
   Abstract »    PDF »
Impairment in preattentive visual processing in patients with Parkinson's disease.
K. Lieb, S. Brucker, M. Bach, T. Els, C. H. Lucking, and M. W. Greenlee (1999)
Brain 122, 303-313
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Early Vision Is Bottom-up, Except for Focal Attention.
B. Julesz (1990)
Cold Spring Harb Symp Quant Biol 55, 973-978
   Abstract »    PDF »
Parallel and serial processes in motion detection.
M Dick, S Ullman, and D Sagi (1987)
Science 237, 400-402
   Abstract »    PDF »


To Advertise     Find Products

Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)