MANIPULATING THE DISENGAGE OPERATION OF COVERT VISUAL-SPATIAL ATTENTION

Citation
J. Danckert et P. Maruff, MANIPULATING THE DISENGAGE OPERATION OF COVERT VISUAL-SPATIAL ATTENTION, Perception & psychophysics, 59(4), 1997, pp. 500-508
Citations number
32
Categorie Soggetti
Psychology, Experimental",Psychology
Journal title
ISSN journal
00315117
Volume
59
Issue
4
Year of publication
1997
Pages
500 - 508
Database
ISI
SICI code
0031-5117(1997)59:4<500:MTDOOC>2.0.ZU;2-L
Abstract
Processes of covert visual spatial attention have been closely linked to the programming of saccadic eye movements. In particular, it has be en hypothesized that the reduction in saccadic latency that occurs in the gap paradigm is due to the prior disengagement of covert visual sp atial attention. This explanation has received considerable criticism. No study as yet has attempted to demonstrate a facilitation of the di sengagement of attention from a covertly attended object. If such faci litation were possible, it: would support the hypothesis that the pred isengagement of covert attention is necessary Tur the generation of ex press saccades. In two experiments using covert orienting of visual at tention tasks (COVAT), with a high probability that targets would appe ar contralateral to the cued location, we attempted to facilitate the disengagement of covert attention by extinguishing peripheral cues pri or to the appearance of targets. We hypothesized that the gap between cue offset and target onset would facilitate disengagement of attentio n from a covertly attended object. For both experiments, responses to targets appearing after a gap were slower than were responses in the n o-gap condition. These results suggest that: the prior offset of a cov ertly attended object does not facilitate the disengagement of attenti on.