Electrophysiological correlates of direct selection by color

Abstract

We report an experiment using event-related potentials (ERPs) to study selection by color uncontaminated from selection by location. Participants monitored an RSVP sequence for a given target letter that could appear in upper- or lowercase. Prior to the sequence, a cue indicated the most likely color of the target letter. Replicating E. Vierck and J. Miller (2005), upper-/lowercase discrimination accuracy was higher following valid than invalid color cues. Within the ERPs, the target onset produced a negative component between 150 and 350 ms at occipital sites, with shorter latencies following valid than invalid cues. We also found larger amplitude components for valid than invalid color cues at central and parietal sites between 150 and 325 ms. The results not only demonstrate clear effects of color cuing on both behavior and ERPs but also suggest that the observed ERP differences between valid versus invalid trials mediate the behavioral effects.