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Cortical mechanisms of space-based and object-based attentional control
Steven Yantis1, John T Serences
1Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA. yantis@jhu.edu
Current Opinion in Neurobiology
|May 15, 2003
Summary
Visual attention selects important information by shifting between spatial locations or object representations. This involves transient activity in parietal and frontal cortex, complementing sustained attention signals.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cognitive Science
- Visual Perception
Background:
- Visual attention guides information processing by selecting relevant stimuli.
- Attention can be directed spatially or to object-based representations.
- Parietal and frontal cortical circuits control attentional deployment.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the neural mechanisms underlying voluntary shifts in visual attention.
- To differentiate the roles of transient and sustained neural activity in attention.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of neural activity in parietal and frontal cortical regions during attentional shifts.
- Examination of extrastriate cortical representations under attentional modulation.
Main Results:
- Transient activation observed in parietal and frontal cortex during voluntary attentional shifts.
- This transient activity may signal an abrupt change in attentional set.
- Sustained neural signals are implicated in maintaining attentive states.
Conclusions:
- Voluntary shifts in visual attention involve transient neural events in frontoparietal circuits.
- These transient signals complement sustained activity for attentional control.
- Understanding these mechanisms enhances knowledge of visual perception and cognitive control.