Lower-Right and Upper-Left Biases within Upper and Lower Visual Fields in a Circular Array Task

Abstract

Visuospatial performance varies along the horizontal and vertical dimensions, resulting in behavioral biases such as pseudoneglect. The interaction between the horizontal and vertical attentional biases was investigated using a novel circular array task capable of conveying relative brightness information across vertical and horizontal dimensions simultaneously. In a novel circular array task comprised of six discs, the grayscale gradient was disrupted by switching two grayscale values within the array. Leftward biases were observed in the lower visual fields and rightward biases in the upper visual fields. More importantly, the magnitude of bias within the upper / lower horizontal dimension altered depending on the relative position of the stimuli along horizontal and vertical axes within each dimension. Manipulating the upper-most and leftward discs yield stronger biases than manipulating rightward discs. Furthermore, stronger biases were observed during bottom and rightward disc manipulation. The upper-left and lower-right biases within the horizontal dimension indicate that the interactions between the horizontal and vertical biases may not rely simply on the dichotomy within the horizontal and vertical dimensions, but also on the relative spatial distribution of stimuli within these dimensions.