Priority Maps, Featureful Processing, and the Superior Colliculus
Year: 2026
Type: preprint
Abstract: The priority map has been used to explain how locations are prioritized for attention and behavior. Priority maps provide a test case for how computational models and neural data can be integrated. Focusing on the superior colliculus (SC) as a paradigm neural substrate for priority maps, we raise two questions: (1) What does priority mean computationally? (2) Since priority maps are featureless, how can this be integrated with recent work on feature coding in SC? We argue that the priority map remains computationally unclear because the nature of priority remains unsettled. Given emerging evidence for “featureful” coding within SC, we challenge the priority map’s featureless assumption as applied to SC and suggest an alternative: a featureful priority matrix where feature dimensions remain distinctly represented.
Source: PsyArXiv (OSF Preprints)
Authors: Wayne Wu, Neeraj J. Gandhi, James P. Herman
Language: English
Subfield: Cognitive Neuroscience
Field: Neuroscience
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7213674299