Showing papers on "Salience (neuroscience) published in 1980"

Erratum to: Formation of attentional-associative networks in real time: Role of the hippocampus and implications for conditioning

Abstract: The function of the hippocampus in conditioning is portrayed in terms of an extension of Mackintosh’s (1975) attention theory, which describes the evolution of the salience (associability) of each stimulus in the situation, including the context, and its predictive associative relationship to itself and all other stimuli In terms of the model, the hippocampus is essential for computations that reduce salience when a stimulus is presented in the context of other stimuli that are better predictors of events The model is applied to the phenomena of latent inhibition and blocking

The Visual Stimulus for Saccadic Eye Movements in Human Observers

Abstract: Three experiments are reported in which the salience of visual stimuli is assessed by finding which of two competing peripheral stimuli elicit a saccade when both are presented simultaneously with the use of paradigm due to Love-Schoen The first experiment shows how salience is affected by position in the visual field A strong effect of retinal eccentricity is found which is compared with the cortical magnification factor Additionally directional biases occur The second experiment shows that temporal change appears to be significant in eliciting a saccade rather than any specific properties related to movement The third experiment shows that contour at high spatial frequencies does not affect salience An area of 4 cycles deg-1 high-contrast square-wave grating possesses the same salience as an equivalent area with identical, constant, space average luminance Taken together, the results suggest that salience might be accountable for in terms of the activation of transient channels in the visual system

The hippocampus and cue utilization

Abstract: Animals with hippocampal lesions are typically impaired on tasks which incorporate a large interference component. Thus, they are deficient in tests of learning which require the suppression of a previously learned response (e.g., runway passive avoidance) or the correct selection of a response from among several alternatives (e.g., multiple-arm radial maze). Similarly, their memory for learned habits is adversely affected by conflicting experiences that intervene between original learning and recall. However, when the salience of relevant task-related cues is increased so as to enhance the discriminability between competing associations, performance improves dramatically. It is proposed that damage to the hippocampus results in a general information-processing deficit that is related to an impaired use of available stimulus cues.

Relative salience of intonation fall and pause as cues to the perceptual segmentation of speech in an unfamiliar language.

Abstract: The modification of subjects' attention by two prosodic features was investigated using their reaction times to a nonspeech stimulus which coincided with these features. By using a foreign language unfamiliar to the subjects (Czechoslovakian), the influence of semantic and syntactic knowledge was controlled. The results indicate that for native speakers of English intonation fall is a relatively more important cue to the perceptual segmentation of speech than is pause.

Object salience and code separation in picture naming

Abstract: Picture naming requires access to three kinds of codes in permanent memory: visual-perceptual, semantic, and lexical. When a picture is named a second time, there is a substantial latency drop. This is assumed to reflect a limited but specific reorganization of memory called “update.” Research was designed to explore three questions: (1) Are the code systems independent? (2) Does update occur in the visual system? If so, what proportion of update is visual? (3) How does the salience of objects (i.e., frequency, ecological importance) determine the magnitude of the latency drop? The naming latencies for pictures previously processed only visually were compared with pictures renamed and those not previously presented. Pictures were calibrated on one index of salience (uncertainty). Results supported the conclusion that the visual system is at least partially independent of the others. Update occurs in the visual system; visual-node priming may be responsible for approximately one-third of the total latency drop. Finally, visual update appears insensitive to object salience, whereas the nonvisual components primed, lexical and/or semantic, interact with salience.

Salience of Handedness in the Spontaneous Description of others

Abstract: This study tested the hypothesis that handedness will be more salient for left-handers than for right-handers in spontaneously describing others. 28 male college students, half left-handed and half right-handed, were shown a drawing of 8 children at a party. 7 children held objects in the left hand while one held an object in the right hand. Subjects were asked to describe the picture in detail. Significantly more left-handers than right-handers mentioned the hand use of the pictured figures, which supported the hypothesis.