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Updated: Jul 10, 2026
06:46
Investigating the Deployment of Visual Attention Before Accurate and Averaging Saccades via Eye Tracking and Assessment of Visual Sensitivity
Published on: March 18, 2019
The N2pc component and its links to attention shifts and spatially selective visual processing
Monika Kiss1, José Van Velzen, Martin Eimer
1School of Psychology, Birkbeck College, University of London, London, UK. m.kiss@bbk.ac.uk
Psychophysiology
|November 1, 2007
Summary
The N2pc component does not solely reflect attentional target selection. It may also indicate spatially specific processing of stimulus features before target selection, even without attention shifts.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Neuroscience
- Visual Attention Research
Background:
- The N2pc component is a widely used electrophysiological measure in attention research.
- Its precise role in attentional processing, specifically distinguishing target selection from earlier stages like covert orienting, remains debated.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine if the N2pc component exclusively reflects attentional target selection.
- To investigate whether the N2pc is also associated with earlier stages of attentional processing, such as covert orienting or target-unspecific spatial attention.
Main Methods:
- A spatial cuing procedure was integrated with a visual search task.
- Participants performed trials with informative cues predicting target location and uninformative cues preventing preparatory attention shifts.
Main Results:
- The N2pc response to targets remained unaffected by cue informativeness, indicating it is not solely driven by attention shifts.
- An attenuated N2pc was observed for uniform nontarget arrays following informative cues, suggesting a role in pre-target spatial processing.
Conclusions:
- The N2pc component appears to be involved in more than just attentional target selection.
- Evidence suggests the N2pc may also reflect spatially specific processing of stimulus features at task-relevant locations prior to the selection of the target.
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