Perceptual enhancement of contrast by attention

Allocating spatial attention to a visual stimulus or increasing stimulus contrast both enhance neuronal responses. In a recent study Carrasco et al. demonstrated that attention itself changes perceived contrast. Using an elegant experimental manipulation, they showed that the contrast of an attended stimulus was perceived to be higher than when the same stimulus was unattended. This provides evidence that the enhancement of stimulus salience observed in electrophysiological studies creates an enhanced perceptual representation of attended stimuli.