Spatial and temporal attention modulate the early stages of face processing : behavioural evidence from a reaching paradigm

Genevieve L. Quek, Matthew Finkbeiner

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

A presently unresolved question within the face perception literature is whether attending to the location of a face modulates face processing (i.e. spatial attention). Opinions on this matter diverge along methodological lines – where neuroimaging studies have observed that the allocation of spatial attention serves to enhance the neural response to a face, findings from behavioural paradigms suggest face processing is carried out independently of spatial attention. In the present study, we reconcile this divide by using a continuous behavioural response measure that indexes face processing at a temporal resolution not available in discrete behavioural measures (e.g. button press). Using reaching trajectories as our response measure, we observed that although participants were able to process faces both when attended and unattended (as others have found), face processing was not impervious to attentional modulation. Attending to the face conferred clear benefits on sex-classification processes at less than 350ms of stimulus processing time. These findings constitute the first reliable demonstration of the modulatory effects of both spatial and temporal attention on face processing within a behavioural paradigm.
Original languageEnglish
Article numbere57365
Number of pages12
JournalPLoS One
Volume8
Issue number2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2013

Open Access - Access Right Statement

© 2013 Quek, Finkbeiner. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

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