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Egeth, H.

Publications and source records attributed to Egeth, H..

2 recordsLinked to original sources
bioRxiv2024

Sensitivity to visual features in inattentional blindness

The relation between attention, perception and awareness is among the most fundamental problems in the science of the mind. One of the most striking and well-known phenomena bearing on this question is inattentional blindness (IB; Neisser & Becklen, 1975; Mack & Rock, 1998; Most et al., 2001, 2005). In IB, naive observers fail to report clearly visible stimuli when their attention is otherwise engaged--famously even missing a gorilla parading before their eyes (Simons & Chabris, 1999). This phenomenon and the research programs it has motivated carry tremendous theoretical significance, both as crucial evidence that awareness requires attention (Cohen et al., 2012; Prinz, 2012; Noah & Mangun, 2020) and as a key tool in seeking the neural correlates of consciousness (Rees et al., 1999; Pitts et al., 2014; Hutchinson, 2019). However, these and other implications critically rest on a notoriously biased measure: asking participants whether they noticed anything unusual (and interpreting negative answers as reflecting a complete lack of perception). Here, in the largest ever set of IB studies, we show that, as a group, inattentionally blind participants can successfully report the location, color and shape of the stimuli they deny noticing. This residual visual sensitivity shows that perceptual information remains accessible in IB. We further show that subjective reports in IB are conservative, by introducing absent trials where no IB stimulus is presented; this approach allows us to show for the first time that observers collectively show a systematic bias to report not noticing in IB--essentially playing it safe in reporting their sensitivity. This pair of results is consistent with an alternative hypothesis about IB, namely that inattentionally blind subjects retain some degree of awareness of the stimuli they fail to report. Overall, these data provide the strongest evidence to date of significant residual visual sensitivity in IB. They also challenge the use of inattentional blindness to argue that awareness requires attention.

neuroscience↗
bioRxiv2024

Neurocognitive Mechanism of Radiologists Perceptual Errors: Results of Preliminary Studies

BackgroundThe most prevalent type of radiologist error is failing to detect abnormalities on images, the so-called "perceptual error." The prevalence of this type of false-negative (FN) error remains essentially unchanged since it was first described in 1949. PurposeThe purpose of this research is to identify a potential neurocognitive mechanism contributing to radiologists susceptibility to perceptual error, in order to inform intervention strategies to reduce such errors in practice. These experiments evaluated the relationship between brain network activation states and radiologists perceptual errors on two distinct visual tasks utilizing functional MRI (fMRI) and functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRs). Materials and MethodsA prospective study consisting of three experiments was carried out on a small number of radiologist subjects. The first two experiments used fMRI, with participants performing two distinct types of visual tasks, respectively: the first was a task requiring subjects continuous attention and the second task required visual search. For the first of these experiments, simultaneous functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopic Imaging (fNIRs) was utilized along with fMRI. The second experiment was combined fMRI and eye-tracking. A third experiment using fNIRs alone was an observational study of subjects neurocognitive states during their usual practice. ResultsAn approximately threefold increased risk of FN perceptual errors (misses) was observed in the presence of a particular error-prone neurocognitive state (EPS) involving simultaneous co-activation of elements of the Default Mode Network (DMN) and Frontoparietal Network (FPN), which was detectable by both functional imaging modalities, with high concordance. EPS episodes appeared to be stochastic in occurrence, and occurred without operator awareness. We also found a high prevalence of the EPS in radiologists performing their normal interpretive tasks in their actual practice setting. ConclusionOur results suggest that dynamic interactions between brain networks leading to a particular error-prone state (EPS) may underlie a substantial fraction of radiologists perceptual errors. We demonstrate that this EPS can be detected unobtrusively in the clinical setting. These results suggest potential intervention strategies for perceptual error, the largest class of radiologist errors in practice. Key Results/HighlightsO_LIPeriodic episodes of a discrete neurocognitive state were observed in radiologists during specific visual tasks and in actual clinical settings. C_LIO_LIThere was an approximately threefold increased risk of perceptual error during this state. Most FN errors for the two visual tasks occurred during these brief episodes (p < 0.01). C_LIO_LIThere was also a highly significant anti-correlation of the prevalence of the error-prone neurocognitive state (EPS) with subject age (p < 0.001). C_LI ConflictsThe authors report no conflicts of interest or potential competing interests. Summary StatementWe report experimental results corelating perceptual errors by radiologists to episodic fluctuations in brain network activation, which appear to occur on a stochastic basis. These produce an error-prone neurocognitive state outside of operator awareness or control that is associated with an approximately threefold increase in the risk of perceptual error.

neuroscience↗