Attention enhances feature integration

Perceptual processing delays between attribute dimensions (e.g. color, form and motion) [Proceedings of the Royal Society of London Series B 264 (1997) 1407] have been attributed to temporal processing asynchronies resulting from functional segregation of visual information [Science 240 (1988) 740]. In addition, several lines of evidence converge to suggest that attention plays an important role in the integration of functionally processed information. However, exactly how attention modulates the temporal integration of information remains unclear. Here, we examined how attention modulates the integration of color and form into a unitary perception. Results suggest that attending to the location of an object enhances the integration of its defining attributes by speeding up the perceptual processing of each attribute dimension. Moreover, the perceptual asynchrony between attributes remains constant across attended and unattended conditions because attention seems to offer each processing dimension an equal processing advantage.