Event-related potentials reveal dissociable mechanisms for orienting and focusing visuospatial attention

The neural mechanisms supporting visuospatial orienting and focusing were investigated by recording event-related potentials (ERPs) in a cued, line-orientation discrimination task. Search arrays flashed randomly in the left or right visual field and were preceded by peripheral cues that varied in validity (valid or invalid, with 50% each) and size (large or small, with 50% each). Facilitation of response time was observed for valid trials, regardless of cue size. In contrast to previous cued search studies, however, small (i.e., more precise) cues were associated with delayed responses. Both the timing and the amplitudes of the early ERP components, P1 and N1, were modulated by attentional orienting, with valid trials eliciting a larger and later contralateral vP1 (ventral P1) and a smaller and later contralateral N1 compared to invalid trials. Attentional focusing modulated only the amplitudes of the P1 component, with precisely cued trials eliciting a larger dP1 (dorsal P1) than less precisely cued trials at both contralateral and ipsilateral sites. Thus, both attentional orienting and focusing modulate early stimulus processing stages that overlap in time, but with dissociable effects on the scalp distribution of these components, indicating possibly different underlying mechanisms. In addition, the results support the notion that voluntary and involuntary allocations of visuospatial attention are mediated by different underlying neural processes.