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Related Experiment Videos

Orienting attention to locations in internal representations.

Ivan C Griffin1, Anna C Nobre

  • 1Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, UK.

Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience
|January 8, 2004
PubMed
Summary

Researchers explored orienting spatial attention to working memory, finding similar behavioral effects for external perceptual cues and internal memory cues. Neural activity showed both shared and distinct patterns, suggesting unique processes for internal attention.

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Area of Science:

  • Cognitive Neuroscience
  • Psychology
  • Neuroscience

Background:

  • Selective spatial attention is crucial for processing perceptual information.
  • The ability to orient attention to internal representations in working memory is less understood.
  • Distinguishing between attention to external stimuli and internal representations is key.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate if spatial attention can be oriented to internal working memory representations similarly to external perceptual stimuli.
  • To compare behavioral and neural correlates of orienting attention to external versus internal spatial information.
  • To determine if distinct neural processes underlie attention to working memory.

Main Methods:

  • Three experiments were conducted using cueing paradigms (pre-cue, retro-cue, neutral cue).

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  • Behavioral measures assessed costs and benefits of cueing on performance.
  • Event-related potentials (ERPs) were used to examine neural activity during attention orienting.

    • Main Results:

    • Equivalent behavioral costs and benefits were observed for both pre-cue (external) and retro-cue (internal) conditions.
    • Replication confirmed these effects were not solely due to response criteria changes.
    • ERPs showed similarities (lateralized posterior/frontal negativities) and differences (additional frontal activity for retro-cues) between external and internal attention.

    Conclusions:

    • Spatial attention can be selectively oriented to internal representations in working memory, mirroring processes for external stimuli.
    • Both shared and unique neural mechanisms are involved in orienting attention to perceptual information versus working memory content.
    • Retro-cueing to internal representations involves distinct neural processes, particularly early frontal activity.