Visual search and spatial deficits

Studies of visual search with patients with spatial attentional deficits have shown that the ability to bind basic features properly and thus to search for the conjunction of two spatially contiguous features is compromised. However, the effect of spatial deficits on feature search is more controversial. Here, we explore questions raised by the neuropsychological literature regarding feature processing and demonstrate that features “pop out” in the affected visual field, albeit more slowly. The implications for feature processing and selection as well as the relevance for understanding spatial deficits are discussed.