The characteristics of preattentive process in vision and its neurophysiological basis.

前注意过程是一种感知模式，其中信息在宽视野中快速自动地处理，而不需要注意。通过对纹理知觉、视觉搜索、图形-背景知觉、视觉内插和复合图形知觉的实验研究，我们发现前注意过程具有以下共同特征：（1）在前注意过程中，视觉内插和图形-背景知觉的特征与前注意过程的特征是一致的;前注意过程中的知觉反应是快速的、短暂的，具有较高的时间频率偏好。它们的空间分辨率较低，但具有很强的关联性，可以对具有相同特征的区域进行集中处理。它们的亮度对比灵敏度非常好，但颜色对比灵敏度较差。从这些发现来看，我们认为利文斯通和胡贝尔研究的磁系统是前注意过程的神经生理学基础。大神经元的感受野很大，反应也很快。报告了提取相同特征的神经元之间的相互连接。大神经元具有很强的亮度对比敏感性，但对颜色对比的敏感性较差，目前的一些注意模型是基于WTA（Winner-Take-All）网络或振荡神经反应的同步而提出的。如果这些想法在磁系统活动的背景下扩展，则建议可以抑制冗余信息并在关键位置和分辨率处有效地引导注意力以用于对象识别。

The preattentive process is a mode of perception in which the information is processed in a wide visual field, rapidly and automatically, without attention. This process plays an important role to pick up outline properties from the inputted information and to make quickly a basic representations for the formation of higher cognitions.We found the following common characteristics in preattentive process, from the experiments on texture perception, visual search, figure-ground perception, visual interpolation, and compound pattern perception. The perceptual responses in preattentive process are quick and transient, with higher temporal frequency preference. Their spatial resolution is low, but they show the strong linking property to process collectively the regions which have the same features. Their luminance contrast sensitivity is extremely good, but their color contrast sensitivity is poor.From these findings, we regard the magno system investigated by Livingstone & Hubel as a neurophysiological basis for the preattentive process. The receptive fields of the magno neurons are large and their responses are fast. The mutual connections are reported among the neurons which extract the same features. The magno neurons show strong luminace contrast sensitivity, but poor sensitivity to color contrast.Some of the current models of attention are proposed based on the WTA (Winner-Take-All) network or on the synchronization of oscillatory neural responses. If these ideas are extended in the context of the magno system's activity, it is suggest to be possible to inhibit redundant information and to guide attention effectively at the critical location and resolution for object recognition.