特征注意的全局性调制作用——增强还是抑制?

doi:10.3724/SP.J.1042.2020.00566

摘要/Abstract

摘要：

特征注意(feature-based attention)是个体根据特定的特征维度或特征值分配视觉注意资源的能力。在注意焦点内, 特征注意会增强对注意特征具有反应选择性的神经元活动, 并抑制对干扰特征具有反应选择性的神经元活动。大量研究表明, 特征注意的调制作用可以扩散到注意焦点以外, 具有全局性的特点, 但这种全局性调制作用是增强机制还是抑制机制仍然存在争议。这可能是由于两种机制在时间进程等属性上存在差异, 在视觉信息加工中可能扮演着不同角色。相对而言, 全局性抑制作用可能更易受实验设计和实验参数的影响。后续研究应该探究全局性抑制机制在什么条件下发挥作用, 以及进一步对全局性的增强机制和抑制机制进行分离。

关键词: 特征注意, 全局性调制作用, 增强机制, 抑制机制

Abstract:

Feature-based attention (FBA) is the ability that observers can direct their attention to a specific feature dimension or value. In the attentional focus, FBA can modulate the response of neurons in visual cortex: it selectively increases the responses of neurons encoding attended features while suppresses the responses of neurons encoding distracting features. Many studies found that this attentional modulation can spread outside the focus of attention, but the underlying mechanism of the global modulation of FBA (enhancement or suppression) is still controversial. The global enhancement mechanism and the global suppression mechanism are different in time courses and may play distinctive roles in visual information processing. Compared to the global enhancement mechanism, the global suppression mechanism seems more likely to be influenced by experimental designs and parameters. Future studies are needed to investigate under what conditions the global suppression mechanism takes effect and to further disassociate these two global mechanisms in the process of feature-based attention.

Key words: feature-based attention, global modulation, global enhancement, global suppression

中图分类号:

B842

黄子立, 丁玉珑, 曲折. (2020). 特征注意的全局性调制作用——增强还是抑制?. 心理科学进展 , 28(4), 566-578.

HUANG Zili, DING Yulong, QU Zhe. (2020). The global modulation of feature-based attention: Enhancement or suppression?. Advances in Psychological Science, 28(4), 566-578.

图/表 4

图1 特征注意的经典模型。A: 偏向竞争模型。神经元感受野(灰色虚线圆圈示)内存在相互竞争的视觉刺激, 如向上和向下运动的随机点, 选择性注意调制了对向上和向下运动具有反应偏好的神经元集群的反应。结果发现, 针对MT区神经元, 相比于注意感受野外刺激的基线条件, 当猴子选择性注意其感受野内朝偏好方向的运动点时, 神经元放电率显著增强, 而当猴子选择性注意相反方向时, 神经元放电率显著减弱。资料来源：Treue & Maunsell (1999), 有所修改。B: 特征相似性增益模型。Martinez-Trujillo和Treue (2004)在两侧视野呈现相同运动方向的随机点, 记录猴子在注意随机点运动方向和注意中央注视点两种状态下感受野(灰色虚线圆圈示)对应的MT区神经元活动。结果发现, 随机点运动方向与神经元偏好方向之间的相似性调制了神经元的响应水平：随机点运动方向与神经元偏好方向相似时, 神经元的反应被增强; 而当随机点运动方向与神经元偏好方向差异较大时, 神经元的反应受到抑制。

图2 支持特征注意全局性增强机制的实证性证据。A: Saenz等人(2003)的分散注意任务范式示意图; 受试者在每侧视野内注意其中一种运动方向的随机点, 并同时完成运动速度变化的检测任务。结果发现, 注意相同特征条件下受试者的正确率显著高于注意不同特征条件。B: White和Carrasco (2011)的分散注意任务范式示意图; 一侧视野会呈现向上和向下运动的重叠随机点作为主要刺激, 在另一侧视野会呈现两个区域的随机点作为次要刺激; 受试者需要注意主要刺激中的一种运动方向, 并对次要刺激完成一个一致性运动检测任务。C: Zhang和Luck (2009)采用的探针刺激范式示意图; 在一侧视野内呈现空间上重叠的两种颜色的随机点, 要求受试者注意其中一种颜色, 同时忽略另一侧视野的探针刺激。D: Painter等人(2014)的探针刺激范式示意图; 受试者在中央视野根据颜色特征完成视觉搜索任务, 同时在外周视野呈现3种颜色(包括两种中央视野的颜色和另一种只呈现在外周视野的颜色)的棋盘格图案, 3种颜色分别以3种频率闪烁。E: Forschack等人(2017)的探针刺激范式示意图; 在中央视野呈现空间上重叠的红色和蓝色的随机点, 在两侧的外周视野则分别单独呈现红色及蓝色的随机点。

图3 支持特征注意全局性抑制机制的实证性证据。A: Moher等(2014)增加了中性颜色的探针刺激, 结果发现相比于中性颜色探针刺激, 与干扰颜色相匹配的探针刺激诱发的P1振幅更小, 而与目标颜色相匹配的探针刺激诱发的P1振幅没有显著增加。B: Störmer和Alvarez (2014)操作了注意特征之间的相似程度, 发现在特征空间内, 与注意特征差异较小或差异最大的非注意特征会受到更强烈的全局性抑制。

图4 同时支持全局性增强机制和全局性抑制机制的实证性证据。A: Ho等(2012)在中央呈现内源性的线索, 并在4个象限内呈现朝某方向协同运动的随机点, 受试者需要搜索哪个位置的运动最明显。研究者通过操作无效线索与目标运动方向的相似性, 探究特征注意调制作用从增强到抑制的不同知觉结果。B: Andersen等(2013)的分散注意范式示意图：在实验一中视野两侧呈现红色和蓝色的随机点, 分为注意相同颜色和注意相反颜色两种条件; 而在实验二中视野两侧呈现4种不同颜色的随机点(只有注意不同颜色这一条件), 此时不存在潜在的全局性调制作用, 相当于基线条件。

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