Pre-Attentive and Attentive Visual Information Processing

Research on several interrelated topics is described in this report. These projects are focused on the analysis of feature and conjunction detection, models of selective attention, and curve tracing. One project examines the effects of a heterogeneous background on feature search. Another assesses spatial factors such a target-distractor separation in the detection of targets defined in terms of simple features. A third project has the goal of developing methods for determining the extent to which processing is serial or parallel. A fourth represents initial efforts to determine whether conjoined features are represented in retinotopic or spatiotopic maps. A fifth explores top-down and bottom-up factors in visual search. A sixth makes use of an inhibitory priming method to test early-and late-selection models of selective attention. Finally, a project is reported in which the operation of visual curve tracing is studied. Keywords Visual perception Attention Perception Information processing Vision Visual search Curve tracing.