Priority coding in the visual system

Although we are continuously bombarded with visual input, only a fraction of incoming visual events is perceived, remembered or acted on. The neural underpinnings of various forms of visual priority coding, including perceptual expertise, goal-directed attention, visual salience, image memorability...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nature reviews. Neuroscience 2022-06, Vol.23 (6), p.376-388
Main Authors: Rust, Nicole C, Cohen, Marlene R
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal cognition
Attention
Behavior
Brain
Brain Mapping - methods
Data analysis
Decision making
Humans
Mental Recall
Neural coding
Visual Perception
Visual system
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Summary:Although we are continuously bombarded with visual input, only a fraction of incoming visual events is perceived, remembered or acted on. The neural underpinnings of various forms of visual priority coding, including perceptual expertise, goal-directed attention, visual salience, image memorability and preferential looking, have been studied. Here, we synthesize information from these different examples to review recent developments in our understanding of visual priority coding and its neural correlates, with a focus on the role of behaviour to evaluate candidate correlates. We propose that the brain combines different types of priority into a unified priority signal while also retaining the ability to differentiate between them, and that this happens by leveraging partially overlapping low-dimensional neural subspaces for each type of priority that are shared with the downstream neural populations involved in decision-making. Finally, we describe the gulfs in understanding that have resulted from different research approaches, and we point towards future directions that will lead to fundamental insights about neural coding and how prioritization influences visually guided behaviours.
ISSN:1471-003X
1471-0048
1469-3178
DOI:10.1038/s41583-022-00582-9