Figure 4.

Functional diagram of the TA-dependent time-change model of perception. Each block represents a 1D map of space (i.e., retinal eccentricity), divided into an attentional system (green) and a perceptual system (purple). Action and perception depend upon attention, which is modulated by prominence. The SC (blue) combines bottom-up and top-down information to determine which retinotopic locus has the most prominent stimulus for action and perception. Prominence affects the attention gain modulating the visual input to the attention system. Enhanced vision is the common input for the perceptual system (in prefrontal cortex) and for the stimulus priority map (in lateral intraparietal cortex). The priority map selects the target, which leads to an action (red) when the signal at that locus crosses a threshold. The object map in the perceptual system receives the enhanced vision signal when the stimulus is stable in time (determined by comparing the template and pretemplate signals across a brief time). The object map is integrated. When the integrator signal crosses a fixed threshold it enters the perceptual map (perception). Conscious perception occurs when the signal in the perceptual map crosses a second, dynamic threshold. Thus, prominence couples the time of action and perception, and affects what is perceived, by modulating the enhanced vision signal. Asterisk indicates convolution. Steps indicate thresholds. Π and ÷ indicate multiplication and division.