Neural computations in the foveal and peripheral visual fields during active search.

Foveal neural activity shows strong feature-based attentional enhancements during active visual search, challenging the view that such modulation is mainly peripheral.

• Why it matters: Understanding how attention operates across both foveal and peripheral regions is crucial for comprehending naturalistic visual behavior, yet the neural mechanisms remain largely unexplored.
• What they did: Neural activity was recorded from foveal and peripheral RFs in V4 and IT areas of monkeys engaged in free-gaze search among complex stimuli, revealing dynamic, non-uniform attention patterns.
• The result: Foveal attention promotes sustained fixations on targets, while peripheral signals guide saccades, indicating complementary roles that shape global attention and fixation strategies during active vision.