# How does dividing attention limit object recognition and modify relevant neural activity?

> **NIH NIH F32** · UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON · 2021 · $68,562

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
The information that reaches our eyes doesn’t always correspond to what we perceive. Attention strongly
influences what we see and how we interpret the world. At the same time, our daily activities often require us to
divide attention across two or more things. Previous studies quantifying how much divided attention degrades
task performance have produced varying results, and the neural bases for these effects are poorly understood.
My proposal builds on recent studies of divided attention to masked words, which were consistent with an
attentional bottleneck (only one word can be processed at a time). Specifically, I will pursue the hypothesis that
divided attention effects in object recognition are due to an attentional bottleneck. I plan to use a combination of
theory-driven psychophysics and functional neuroimaging to investigate (1) how much divided attention impairs
human ability to recognize objects, (2) how much divided attention changes neural activity, and where in the
brain this takes place, and (3) whether divided attention can explain why patients with posterior cortical atrophy
(a variant of Alzheimer’s disease affecting visual areas) exhibit deficits in recognizing simultaneously presented
objects.
Studying vision and attention together can have powerful implications for our understanding of the relationship
between brain and behavior. My findings will make an impact by informing theories of how cognitive states relate
to brain activity, and how these changes underlie the limits in our ability to make perceptual judgments. Beyond
the benefit to advancing the fields of visual and attentional processing, the proposed research will also make an
impact in understanding conditions involving deficits in perceptual and attentional processing functions, including
aging and dementias.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10075788
- **Project number:** 5F32EY030320-02
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON
- **Principal Investigator:** DINA V POPOVKINA
- **Activity code:** F32 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $68,562
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-12-16 → 2022-12-15

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10075788

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10075788, How does dividing attention limit object recognition and modify relevant neural activity? (5F32EY030320-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-06-14 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10075788. Licensed CC0.

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