Fig. 1.

A: relying on the most responsive neurons is optimal during a coarse discrimination task because they respond maximally to the relevant feature and minimally to the irrelevant feature(s), thus resulting in a high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). B: when performing a difficult fine discrimination, a neuron tuned to the target feature (—) does not discriminate stimulus alternatives very well (SNR-1). However, a neuron tuned to a flanking off-channel orientation (- - -) undergoes a large change in firing rate because its tuning function has a steeper slope at the sample orientation (SNR-2). · · ·, the target (90°) and the distractor(s) (92°). Adapted with permission from Fig. 4 of Navalpakkam and Itti (2007).