The mechanisms of feature inheritance as predicted by a systems-level model of visual attention and decision making

Abstract

Feature inheritance provides evidence that properties of an invisible target stimulus can be attached to a following mask. We apply a systems-level model of attention and decision making to explore the influence of memory and feedback connections in feature inheritance. We find that the presence of feedback loops alone is sufficient to account for feature inheritance. Although our simulations do not cover all experimental variations and focus only on the general principle, our result appears of specific interest since the model was designed for a completely different purpose than to explain feature inheritance. We suggest that feedback is an important property in visual perception and provide a description of its mechanism and its role in perception.