Local and global contribution to selective and sustained attention

This study introduces an innovative approach to measuring coherent motion thresholds under conditions that separately evaluate global and local visual contributions to sustained selective attention. By manipulating spatial and temporal frequencies, we biased visual inputs toward the Magnocellular (low spatial, high temporal frequency) and Parvocellular (high spatial, low temporal frequency) pathways. Our findings reveal distinct behaviors between global and local visual processing conditions, underscoring their differential contributions to attentional performance. Coherence thresholds were significantly altered under sustained attention demands, with a notably smaller threshold increase in the low spatial frequency/high-speed (10°/s) condition, supporting a predominant involvement of global processing and the dorsal stream. Additionally, threshold variations aligned with expected physiological properties: lower thresholds at higher speeds in low spatial frequency conditions and at lower speeds in high spatial frequency conditions. These patterns validate our method’s robustness in assessing attentional modulation of perceptual functions.