Concurrent selection of internal goals and external sensations during visual search

TL;DR

The study shows that people can process internal goals and external sensory information at the same time during visual search tasks.

Contribution

The paper introduces a new visual search task to study concurrent internal and external selection processes in real time.

Findings

Internal and external selection processes can occur concurrently rather than in strict sequence.

Neural activity patterns for internal and external processes are largely nonoverlapping.

Concurrent processing works even when internal and external selections involve opposite spatial locations.

Abstract

Flexible goal-directed behavior relies on selecting relevant internal goal representations and external sensations. Yet, these selection processes have classically been studied in isolation, leaving unclear how they are coordinated in time to support behavior. To address this, we developed a visual search task to simultaneously track selection among internal search goals held in working memory and external search targets in the environment. Capitalizing on sensitive gaze and neural markers, we provide proof-of-principle evidence in humans that internal and external selection processes do not necessarily take turns in a strictly serial manner but can develop concurrently. These concurrent processes are supported by largely nonoverlapping neural activity patterns in the human brain and can be performed effectively even when engaging opposite spatial locations in working memory and perception. Our findings challenge views portraying brain states as being either internally or externally focused and bring insight into how internal and external selection processes work together to yield efficient search behavior.

Internal and external selection processes can codevelop in time to yield efficient search behavior.

Figures