A neural theory of visual attention and short-term memory (NTVA)

TY - JOUR

T1 - A neural theory of visual attention and short-term memory (NTVA)

AU - Bundesen, Claus

AU - Habekost, Thomas

AU - Kyllingsbæk, Søren

N1 - Received 27 July 2010; revised 10 November 2010; accepted 2 December 2010. Available online 10 December 2010.

PY - 2011/5

Y1 - 2011/5

N2 - The neural theory of visual attention and short-term memory (NTVA) proposed by Bundesen, Habekost, and Kyllingsbæk (2005) is reviewed. In NTVA, filtering (selection of objects) changes the number of cortical neurons in which an object is represented so that this number increases with the behavioural importance of the object. Another mechanism of selection, pigeonholing (selection of features), scales the level of activation in neurons coding for a particular feature. By these mechanisms, behaviourally important objects and features are likely to win the competition to become encoded into visual short-term memory (VSTM). The VSTM system is conceived as a feedback mechanism that sustains activity in the neurons that have won the attentional competition. NTVA accounts both for a wide range of attentional effects in human performance (reaction times and error rates) and a wide range of effects observed in firing rates of single cells in the primate visual system.

AB - The neural theory of visual attention and short-term memory (NTVA) proposed by Bundesen, Habekost, and Kyllingsbæk (2005) is reviewed. In NTVA, filtering (selection of objects) changes the number of cortical neurons in which an object is represented so that this number increases with the behavioural importance of the object. Another mechanism of selection, pigeonholing (selection of features), scales the level of activation in neurons coding for a particular feature. By these mechanisms, behaviourally important objects and features are likely to win the competition to become encoded into visual short-term memory (VSTM). The VSTM system is conceived as a feedback mechanism that sustains activity in the neurons that have won the attentional competition. NTVA accounts both for a wide range of attentional effects in human performance (reaction times and error rates) and a wide range of effects observed in firing rates of single cells in the primate visual system.

U2 - 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2010.12.006

DO - 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2010.12.006

M3 - Journal article

SN - 0028-3932

VL - 49

SP - 1446

EP - 1457

JO - Neuropsychologia

JF - Neuropsychologia

IS - 6

ER -