Boosting the signal: Expectation-driven gain modulation of preparatory spatial attention

Abstract

The visual system can flexibly adjust attentional deployment to match task demands, but whether observers can proactively modulate the spatial scope of attention based on expectations about upcoming search difficulty remains unclear. According to the zoom lens model, attention can narrow or broaden its spatial extent, with narrower focus enhancing processing efficiency, a mechanism that would benefit target discrimination in crowded displays. We tested whether observers adjust attentional scope when expecting sparse versus dense search arrays by combining spatial cueing with block-wise manipulations of display density expectations. Participants performed a visual search task in which endogenous cues predicted target location, while blocks predominantly contained either sparse (1 target, 3 distractors) or dense (1 target, 7 distractors) displays. We applied inverted encoding models to broadband EEG data to reconstruct spatial channel tuning functions, enabling precise characterization of both the locus and breadth of attentional deployment. Behaviorally, expecting difficult searches selectively improved accuracy at cued locations without costs elsewhere. Consistent with this selective benefit, neural measurements revealed that expectancy enhanced the amplitude of spatially selective responses at the attended location but did not alter tuning width. These findings demonstrate that expectations about search difficulty modulate attention through gain-based signal enhancement rather than adjustments to spatial scope, revealing that preparatory attentional control operates via amplitude modulation within a stable spatial focus. This mechanism complements reactive attentional adjustments and provides an efficient means for the visual system to optimize processing under predictable task demands.