Experience-dependent changes in the topography of visual crowding

Williamson, Kristin M.; Scolari, Miranda; Jeong, Su Keun; Kim, Min Shik; Awh, Edward

doi:10.1167/9.11.15

Cited by 8 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 27 publications

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“…Because the goals of our study necessitated that we observe attention effects in both accuracy and RT, we implemented a titration procedure to ensure that the target gap was not salient enough to 1) capture attention in the absence of ongoing top-down deployment or 2) prevent us from observing effects of signal enhancement as a result of attentional deployment. The size of the small gap in the target square frame was titrated throughout each experimental session to achieve an overall performance criterion of 60% to 70% (similar criteria were used in Scolari & Awh (2019) and Williamson et al (2009)). For each participant, the gap was initially set to 0.25°, or one-quarter the size of the line segment.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Limited interactions between space- and feature-based attention in visually sparse displays

Liang

Scolari

2020

Journal of Vision

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Top-down visual attention selectively filters sensory input so relevant information receives preferential processing. Feature-based attention (FBA) enhances the representation of relevant low-level features, whereas space-based attention (SBA) enhances information at relevant location(s). The present study investigates whether the unique influences of SBA and FBA combine to facilitate behavior in a perceptually demanding discrimination task. We first demonstrated that, independently, both color and location pre-cues could effectively direct attention to facilitate perceptual decision making of a target. We then examined the combined effects of SBA and FBA in the same design by deploying a predictive color arrow pre-cue. Only SBA effects were observed in performance accuracy and reaction time. However, we detected a reaction time cost when a valid spatial cue was paired with a feature cue. A computational perceptual decision-making model largely provided converging evidence that contributions from FBA were restricted to facilitating the speed with which the relevant item was identified. Our results suggest that both selection mechanisms can be used in isolation to resolve a perceptually challenging target in a sparse display, but with little additive perceptual benefit when cued simultaneously. We conclude that there is at least some higher order interdependence between space-based and feature-based selection during decision making under specific conditions.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Limited interactions between space- and feature-based attention in visually sparse displays

Liang

Scolari

2020

Journal of Vision

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“…This protracted development of visual processing might contribute to, or even determine advances in, reading development. Nonetheless, the reversed direction of effects is also possible given that it has been shown that reading acquisition alters the organization of early visual (letter features) processing (Dehaene, Cohen, Morais, & Kolinsky, 2015) and that reading experience induces top-down influences on visual crowding (Williamson, Scolari, Jeong, Kim, & Awh, 2009).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Improvements in reading accuracy as a result of increased interletter spacing are not specific to children with dyslexia

Boer

Leenaars

Bos

et al. 2017

Journal of Experimental Child Psychology

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Recently, increased interletter spacing (LS) has been studied as a way to enhance reading fluency. It is suggested that increased LS improves reading performance, especially in poor readers. Theoretically, these findings are well substantiated as a result of diminished crowding effects. Empirically, however, findings on LS are inconclusive. In two experiments, we examined whether effects of increased LS are specific to children with dyslexia and whether increased LS affects word or sentence processing. In the first experiment, 30 children with dyslexia and 30 controls (mean age=9years 11months) read sentences in standard and increased LS conditions. In the second experiment, these sentences were read by an unselected sample of 189 readers (mean age=9years 3months) in either a sentence or word-by-word reading condition. The first experiment showed that increased LS affected children with dyslexia and controls in similar ways. Participants made fewer errors in the increased LS condition than in the standard LS condition. Reading rates were not affected. There were no indications that the effect of LS was related to reading ability, not even for a subgroup of readers. Findings of the second experiment were similar. Increased LS resulted in fewer errors, not faster reading rates. This was found only when complete sentences were presented, not when sentences were read word by word. Three main conclusions can be drawn. First, increased LS appears to affect reading accuracy only. Second, the findings do not support claims that increased LS specifically affects poor readers. And third, the effect of LS seems to occur at the interword level. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.

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“…For example, videogame players experience a smaller crowding effect than do nonplayers (Green & Bavelier, 2007 ). When numbers in a recognition experiment were flanked by Roman letters, performance decreased in the upper left visual field for native English speakers, but not for speakers of Asian languages (e.g., Japanese, Chinese or Korean; Williamson, Scolari, Jeong, Kim, & Awh, 2009 ). Crowding for upright face recognition is stronger when the flankers are upright rather than inverted faces (Louie et al, 2007 ); sensitivity to the orientation of faces is thought to be related to our perceptual experience with upright faces (Bukach, Gauthier, & Tarr, 2006 ).…”

mentioning

confidence: 96%

Music-reading expertise alters visual spatial resolution for musical notation

Wong

Gauthier

2012

Psychon Bull Rev

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Crowding occurs when the perception of a suprathreshold target is impaired by nearby distractors, reflecting a fundamental limitation on visual spatial resolution. It is likely that crowding limits music reading, as each musical note is crowded by adjacent notes and by the five-line staff, similar to word reading, in which letter recognition is reduced by crowding from adjacent letters. Here, we tested the hypothesis that, with extensive experience, music-reading experts have acquired visual skills such that they experience a smaller crowding effect, resulting in higher music-reading fluency. Experts experienced a smaller crowding effect than did novices, but only for musical stimuli, not for control stimuli (Landolt Cs). The magnitude of the crowding effect for musical stimuli could be predicted by individual fluency in music reading. Our results highlight the role of experience in crowding: Visual spatial resolution can be improved specifically for objects associated with perceptual expertise. Music-reading rates are likely limited by crowding, and our results are consistent with the idea that experience alleviates these limitations.

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Experience-dependent changes in the topography of visual crowding

Cited by 8 publications

References 27 publications

Limited interactions between space- and feature-based attention in visually sparse displays

Limited interactions between space- and feature-based attention in visually sparse displays

Improvements in reading accuracy as a result of increased interletter spacing are not specific to children with dyslexia

Music-reading expertise alters visual spatial resolution for musical notation

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