Jan Theeuwes @jthee.bsky.social · 09/08/2026Serial versus parallel search has been a major distinction in theories of attention for more than half a century. Here we provide the first evidence for distinct neural correlates of serial and parallel search using EEG decoding. www.jneurosci.org/content/earl...jneurosci.orgThe neural correlates of parallel and serial searchFor decades, target–distractor similarity has been known to induce distinct visual search modes. A highly salient target can pop out, suggesting parallel processing of all items irrespective of set si... 0249
Jan Theeuwes @jthee.bsky.social · 04/06/2026Surya... Indeed no reversal but by the time the display arrives there are no micro saccades towards the suppressed location 010
Jan Theeuwes @jthee.bsky.social · 04/06/2026I agree it is counterintuitive. But it suggests that one can only suppress a location after the location is attended. The microsaccades are present 1 to 2 sec before display onset and are no longer present later. So first attention and by the time the display comes on suppression. See Figure 030
Jan Theeuwes @jthee.bsky.social · 04/06/2026Our newest finding: tiny microsaccades are biased toward the location that is about to be attentionally suppressed. This suggests that attention briefly precedes suppression: before the system can suppress a location, it first appears to select it.nature.comLearned statistical regularity modulates anticipatory micro-saccades toward suppressed distractor locations - Nature CommunicationsStatistical learning guide attention by shaping anticipatory oculomotor behavior. Here, the authors show that microsaccades are biased to expected distractor locations before stimulus onset and predic... 25221
Jan Theeuwes @jthee.bsky.social · 02/05/2026I will retire from the VU this year (but not from doing science). As a full-circle moment: here is paper on the paradigm with which it all started for me some 35 years ago, in the journal where it all started. A paper on the do’s and don’ts using the additional singleton paradigm. rdcu.be/ffUfardcu.be35+ years of the additional singleton task: Design features and guidelines 0224
Jan Theeuwes @jthee.bsky.social · 29/04/2026ESCoP 2026 will be held in Hangzhou (31 Aug–4 Sept). Great keynote speakers, strong programme, and a chance to experience China. Easy travel via Shanghai + high-speed train. Abstracts still open! www.escop-copm-2026.com 0106
Reposted by Jan TheeuwesMike Le Pelley @mikelepelley.bsky.social · 15/04/2026We're hiring! Looking for a postdoc to work at UNSW Sydney, studying impacts of reward and information on attention, using eye-tracking, EEG, and modelling - with Kelly Garner, Daniel Pearson and me. Application link below, please spread the word! external-careers.jobs.unsw.edu.au/cw/en/job/53...external-careers.jobs.unsw.edu.auResearch Associate - PsychologyThe Research Associate (Level A) is expected to contribute towards the research effort of UNSW and to develop their research expertise through the pursuit of defined projects relevant to their particu... 31216
Reposted by Jan TheeuwesMike Le Pelley @mikelepelley.bsky.social · 15/04/2026Apologies - the project is also in collaboration with Jan Theeuwes (VU Amsterdam) @jthee.bsky.social! I curse the lack of an edit button in Bluesky. 031
Jan Theeuwes @jthee.bsky.social · 30/10/2025Using intracranial recordings from 22 people, we show that hippocampal theta activity enables earlier decoding of the upcoming target, supporting automatic performance. This is specific to the hippocampus, with later involvement of ripple bursts. www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...pnas.orgAutomaticity speeds the retrieval of instances from the human hippocampus | PNASAutomatic processing allows humans to perform tasks with minimal effort following learning. Although theories of automaticity propose that learning... 031
Jan Theeuwes @jthee.bsky.social · 27/09/2025If you are interested in the attentional capture debate... You should read this paper. acrobat.adobe.com/id/urn:aaid:...acrobat.adobe.comAdobe Acrobat 063
Jan Theeuwes @jthee.bsky.social · 12/09/2025By integrating the 'pinging' technique with fMRI-based multivariate pattern analysis, we provide evidence for a dual-format representation of attention during the preparatory period. doi.org/10.7554/eLif...doi.org 0227
Jan Theeuwes @jthee.bsky.social · 26/06/2025By using a visual pinging technique, we uncovered a latent sensory-like format of attentional templates that remains hidden during passive preparation. In @elife.bsky.social: Dual-format attentional template during preparation in human visual cortex doi.org/10.7554/eLif...doi.orgDual-format attentional template during preparation in human visual cortex 170
Reposted by Jan Theeuwestheeuweslab.bsky.social @theeuweslab.bsky.social · 04/06/2025Thanks to the support of the Dutch Research Council (NWO) and @knaw-nl.bsky.social , we're thrilled to announce the international symposium "Advances in the Encephalographic study of Attention"! 🧠🔍 📅 Date: June 25th & 26th 📍 Location: Trippenhuis, Amsterdam 298
Jan Theeuwes @jthee.bsky.social · 26/05/2025This study challenges the idea that the early PD component is a marker of proactive distractor suppression. Instead, this study suggests that this early positivity reflects general salience processing and/or sensory imbalance rather than specific suppression mechanisms direct.mit.edu/jocn/article...direct.mit.eduA Flash in the Pan? Distractor Suppression Cannot Be Inferred from the Early Lateralized PositivityAbstract. Humans excel at avoiding distraction in visual environments, successfully filtering out repeated salient distractors that could otherwise capture attention. A recent theoretical perspective ... 041
Jan Theeuwes @jthee.bsky.social · 26/05/2025Through experience, humans can learn to suppress locations that frequently contain distracting stimuli. Using SSVEPs and ERPs, this study shows that such learned suppression modulates early neural responses, indicating it occurs during initial visual processing. www.jneurosci.org/content/jneu...jneurosci.org 0169
Reposted by Jan TheeuwesFrancisco Garre-Frutos @frangfr.bsky.social · 24/04/2025New Preprint! Here, we test the causal role of selective attention in the acquisition of reward-related attentional biases. W/ @mavadillo.bsky.social, @jthee.bsky.social , Dirk van Moorselaar and @jlupiane.bsky.social. 042
Jan Theeuwes @jthee.bsky.social · 19/04/2025Humans can learn to ignore distracting locations, but the neural basis remains unclear. We used SSVEPs and ERPs to investigate how spatial suppression is learned. www.jneurosci.org/content/earl...jneurosci.orgLearning modulates early encephalographic responses to distracting stimuli: a combined SSVEP and ERP studyThrough experience, humans can learn to suppress locations that frequently contain distracting stimuli. However, the neural mechanism underlying learned suppression remains largely unknown. In this st... 051
Jan Theeuwes @jthee.bsky.social · 20/03/2025In @elife.bsky.social: Proactive distractor suppression in early visual cortex doi.org/10.7554/eLif...doi.orgProactive distractor suppression in early visual cortexImplicitly learned spatial priors shape early visual cortex responses by suppressing potential distractions before stimuli appear, revealing a proactive mechanism that may enhance attentional control. 0147
Jan Theeuwes @jthee.bsky.social · 27/02/2025In this ERP study, we examined the Pd in response to color singleton distractors and dynamic motion distractors during visual search (the additional singleton paradigm) direct.mit.edu/jocn/article...direct.mit.eduDifferential Neural Mechanisms Underlying Inhibition of Color and Dynamic Motion DistractorsAbstract. Navigating visually complex environments requires focusing on relevant information while filtering out (salient) distractions. The signal suppression hypothesis posits that salient stimuli g... 031
Jan Theeuwes @jthee.bsky.social · 27/02/2025We used a brain "pinging" again and found that distractor suppression is reactive rather than proactive, meaning attention is first drawn to the distractor before being suppressed.doi.orgNeural mechanisms of learned suppression uncovered by probing the hidden attentional priority mapLearned suppression of distractor locations in visual search emerges through reactive mechanisms that involve initial spatial selection prior to suppression. 23220
Jan Theeuwes @jthee.bsky.social · 20/02/2025Our fMRI study shows suppression in early visual cortex for those locations that are likely to contain distacting information. Proactive distractor suppression in early visual cortex doi.org/10.7554/eLif...doi.orgProactive distractor suppression in early visual cortex 0123
Jan Theeuwes @jthee.bsky.social · 30/01/2025Pinging the brain again: Not proactive, suppression is reactive. doi.org/10.7554/eLif...doi.orgPinging the Hidden Attentional Priority Map: Suppression Needs Attention 041
Reposted by Jan TheeuwesBogaertsLab @bogaertslab.bsky.social · 18/01/2025💬🙇🏼♀️💬🙇🏼♀️💬🙇🏼♀️ The advantage of spaced studying is well documented for explicit learning, but is there such an advantage for incidental #StatisticalLearning of novel #Language? Jasper de Waard from @jthee.bsky.social’s lab tested it! Find out what we found here : 🔗 doi.org/10.3758/s134...doi.orgTaking time: Auditory statistical learning benefits from distributed exposure - Psychonomic Bulletin & ReviewIn an auditory statistical learning paradigm, listeners learn to partition a continuous stream of syllables by discovering the repeating syllable patterns that constitute the speech stream. Here, we a... 144
Jan Theeuwes @jthee.bsky.social · 18/01/2025Attentional Capture and Control | Annual Reviews - www.annualreviews.org/content/jour...annualreviews.orgAttentional Capture and Control | Annual ReviewsThe current review presents an integrated tripartite framework for understanding attentional control, emphasizing the interaction and competition among top-down, bottom-up, and selection-history influ... 0148
