Neural computations in the foveal and peripheral visual fields during active search

Neural computations in the foveal and peripheral visual fields during active search | bioRxiv Skip to main content Home About Submit ALERTS / RSS Search for this keyword Advanced Search New Results Neural computations in the foveal and peripheral visual fields during active search View ORCID Profile Jie Zhang , Xiaocang Zhu , Zhengyu Ma , Shanshan Wang , Yutian Wang , Hossein Esteky , Yonghong Tian , Huihui Zhou doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.11.22.469359 Jie Zhang 1 Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Shenzhen 518055, China 2 Network Intelligence Research, Peng Cheng Laboratory , Shenzhen 518000, China 3 University of Chinese Academy of Sciences , Beijing 100049, China Find this author on Google Scholar Find this author on PubMed Search for this author on this site ORCID record for Jie Zhang Xiaocang Zhu 1 Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Shenzhen 518055, China 3 University of Chinese Academy of Sciences , Beijing 100049, China Find this author on Google Scholar Find this author on PubMed Search for this author on this site Zhengyu Ma 2 Network Intelligence Research, Peng Cheng Laboratory , Shenzhen 518000, China Find this author on Google Scholar Find this author on PubMed Search for this author on this site Shanshan Wang 4 Paul C. Lauterbur Research Center for Biomedical Imaging, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Shenzhen 518055, China Find this author on Google Scholar Find this author on PubMed Search for this author on this site Yutian Wang 3 University of Chinese Academy of Sciences , Beijing 100049, China 5 Faculty of Life and Health Sciences, Shenzhen University of Advanced Technology , Shenzhen 518083, China Find this author on Google Scholar Find this author on PubMed Search for this author on this site Hossein Esteky 6 Research Group for Brain and Cognitive Sciences, School of Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University , Tehran 19857-17443, Iran Find this author on Google Scholar Find this author on PubMed Search for this author on this site Yonghong Tian 2 Network Intelligence Research, Peng Cheng Laboratory , Shenzhen 518000, China Find this author on Google Scholar Find this author on PubMed Search for this author on this site Huihui Zhou 1 Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Shenzhen 518055, China 2 Network Intelligence Research, Peng Cheng Laboratory , Shenzhen 518000, China Find this author on Google Scholar Find this author on PubMed Search for this author on this site For correspondence: zhouhh{at}pcl.ac.cn Abstract Full Text Info/History Metrics Data/Code Preview PDF Abstract Active vision requires coordinated attentional processing across both foveal and peripheral receptive fields (RFs), yet the underlying neural dynamics and computational mechanisms remain poorly understood. Previous research has predominantly focused on attention in the visual periphery, leaving the role of foveal processing in naturalistic tasks largely unexplored. Here, we recorded neural activity from both foveal and peripheral RFs in areas V4 and IT of monkeys during free-gaze visual search among complex stimuli. We found robust feature-based attentional enhancements in foveal units, challenging the prevailing view that such modulation is predominantly peripheral. By integrating data from foveal and peripheral recordings, we revealed a non-uniform, dynamically distributed pattern of feature attention across the visual field. Behaviorally, foveal attentional enhancements promoted sustained or repeated fixations on targets, while peripheral attentional signals facilitated target detection and guidance of future saccades. These findings suggest that foveal and peripheral attention operate in a complementary fashion, and highlight the critical role of foveal feature attention in shaping global attention allocation and fixation behavior during active vision. This work advances our understanding of the neural computations that support complex visual search and underscores the need to account for foveal processing in models of attention. Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest. Footnotes ↵ * co-first authorship We have updated the Authorship and Acknowledgements section. https://osf.io/sdgkr/ Copyright The copyright holder for this preprint is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. It is made available under a CC-BY 4.0 International license . Back to top Previous Next Posted August 07, 2026. Download PDF Data/Code Email Thank you for your interest in spreading the word about bioRxiv. 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