Selecting and perceiving multiple visual objects. Xu, Y. & Chun, M., M.
Selecting and perceiving multiple visual objects [pdf]Paper  abstract   bibtex   
To explain how multiple visual objects are attended and perceived, we propose that our visual system first selects a fixed number of about four objects from a crowded scene based on their spatial information (object individuation) and then encode their details (object identification). We describe the involvement of the inferior intra-parietal sulcus (IPS) in object individuation and the superior IPS and higher visual areas in object identification. Our neural object-file theory synthesizes and extends existing ideas in visual cognition and is supported by behavioral and neuroimaging results. It provides a better understanding of the role of the differ-ent parietal areas in encoding visual objects and can explain various forms of capacity-limited processing in visual cognition such as working memory. Introduction Many everyday activities, such as driving on a busy street, require the encoding of multiple distinctive visual objects from crowded scenes. Extending previous behavioral theories and incorporating recent brain imaging and beha-vioral data, we describe a neural object-file theory to explain how multiple visual objects are attended and encoded. Given processing limitations, our visual system can first select a fixed number of about four objects from a crowded scene, based on their spatial information (object individuation) and then encode their details (object identi-fication). We present evidence showing the involvement of the inferior intra-parietal sulcus (IPS) in object individua-tion and the superior IPS and higher visual areas in object identification. These two stages of operation could underlie the variety of ways that visual processing is capacity limited, such as in visual short-term memory (also known as visual working memory), enumeration and multiple object tracking. The neural object-file theory Our theory consists of two main components, object indi-viduation and object identification (Figure 1).

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