Trends Cogn Sci. 1997 Nov;1(8):291-6. doi: 10.1016/S1364-6613(97)01094-2.
When two masked targets (T1 and T2) are presented within approximately 500 ms of each other, subjects are often unable to report the second of the two targets (T2) accurately, even though the first has been reported correctly. In contrast, subjects can report T2 accurately when instructed to ignore T1, or when T1 and T2 are separated by more than 500 ms. The above pattern of results has been labelled the attentional blink (AB). Experiments have revealed that the AB is not the result of perceptual, memory or response output limitations. In general, the various theories advanced to account for the AB, although they differ in the specific mechanisms purported to be responsible, assume that allocating attention to T1 leaves less attention for T2, rendering T2 vulnerable to decay or substitution. The present report attempts to bring together these various accounts by proposing a unifying theory. This report also highlights recent attempts to determine if the AB exists across stimulus modalities and points to applications of AB methods in understanding deficits of visual neglect. We conclude by suggesting that investigations of the AB argue in favour of the view that attention may be thought of as a necessary (but not sufficient) condition for enabling consciousness.
当两个戴面具的目标（T1 和 T2）在大约 500 毫秒内彼此呈现时，即使第一个目标已被正确报告，受试者通常也无法准确报告第二个目标（T2）。相比之下，当被指示忽略 T1 或 T1 和 T2 之间的间隔超过 500 毫秒时，受试者可以准确地报告 T2。上述结果模式被标记为注意瞬脱（AB）。实验表明，AB 不是知觉、记忆或反应输出限制的结果。一般来说，为解释 AB 而提出的各种理论虽然在据称负责的具体机制上有所不同，但都假设将注意力分配给 T1 会减少对 T2 的注意力，从而使 T2 容易受到衰减或替代的影响。本报告试图通过提出一个统一的理论将这些不同的解释结合在一起。本报告还强调了最近试图确定 AB 是否存在于不同的刺激模态中的尝试，并指出了 AB 方法在理解视觉忽视缺陷中的应用。我们最后建议，对 AB 的研究支持这样一种观点，即注意力可以被视为意识的必要（但不是充分）条件。
