Visual field meridians modulate the reallocation of object-based attention

Adam J. Barnas, Adam S. Greenberg

Object-based attention (OBA) enhances processing within the boundaries of a selected object. Larger OBA effects have been observed for horizontal compared to vertical rectangles, which were eliminated when controlling for attention shifts across the visual field meridians. We aimed to elucidate the modulatory role of the meridians on OBA. We hypothesized that the contralateral organization of visual cortex accounts for these differences in OBA prioritization. Participants viewed "L"-shaped objects and, following a peripheral cue at the object vertex, detected the presence of a target at the cued location (valid), or at a non-cued location (invalid) offset either horizontally or vertically. In Experiment 1, the single displayed object contained components crossing both meridians. In Experiment 2, one cued object and one non-cued object were displayed such that both crossed the meridians. In Experiment 3, one cued object was sequestered into one screen quadrant, with its vertex either near or far from fixation. Results from Experiments 1 and 2 revealed a horizontal shift advantage (faster RTs for horizontal shifts across the vertical meridian compared to vertical shifts across the horizontal meridian), regardless of whether shifts take place within a cued object (Experiment 1) or between objects (Experiment 2). Results from Experiment 3 revealed no difference between horizontal and vertical shifts for objects that were positioned far from fixation, although the horizontal shift advantage reappeared for objects near fixation. These findings suggest a critical modulatory role of visual field meridians in the efficiency of reorienting object-based attention.