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Controlling attentional priority by preventing changes in oculomotor programs: a job for the premotor cortex?
G A Michael1, C Kleitz, F Sellal
1Laboratoire de Neurosciences du Comportement, Université des Sciences et Technologies de Lille, Bât. SN4.1, 59655 Villeneuve d'Ascq, Cedex, Lille, France. georges.michael@univ-lille1.fr
Neuropsychologia
|July 7, 2001
Summary
Abruptly presented visual stimuli automatically capture attention. A patient with premotor cortex damage showed impaired attentional capture control, particularly when stimuli appeared in the opposite visual field.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cognitive Psychology
- Visual Attention
Background:
- Abrupt visual onsets automatically capture attention, but this can be top-down controlled.
- The premotor theory of attention links attentional shifts to eye movement mechanisms.
- The precise role of the premotor cortex in attention control remains unclear.
Observation:
- A patient with right premotor cortex damage was tested on a visual discrimination task with pre-cued target locations.
- Sudden visual onsets interfered with the patient's ability to attend to the target.
- This interference was not due to insufficient attention focusing or grouping effects.
Findings:
- The patient exhibited significant attentional capture interference when sudden onsets occurred in the visual hemifield opposite the target.
- This phenomenon, termed the meridian effect, suggests a specific role for the premotor cortex in controlling attentional capture.
- The results indicate that attentional capture control may involve maintaining parameters of oculomotor programs.
Implications:
- This research sheds light on the neural mechanisms underlying attentional control.
- Findings suggest a functional link between eye movement systems and visual attention.
- Understanding these mechanisms could inform treatments for attention deficits.