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Measurement of Neurophysiological Signals of Ignoring and Attending Processes in Attention Control
Published on: July 5, 2015
Top-down directed attention to stimulus features and attentional allocation to bottom-up deviations
Risa Sawaki1, Jun'ichi Katayama
1Graduate School of Education, Hokkaido University, Kita-ku, Sapporo, Japan. sawaki@edu.hokudai.ac.jp
Journal of Vision
|January 17, 2009
Summary
Top-down attention to a stimulus feature influences how the brain processes unexpected changes. Directed attention enhances processing of deviations within attended objects but suppresses deviations outside them.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Neuroscience
- Visual Attention Research
- Electrophysiology
Background:
- Selective attention research debates how top-down control influences processing of unexpected stimuli (bottom-up deviation).
- Understanding this interaction is crucial for explaining attentional allocation mechanisms in complex visual environments.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if top-down attention directed to a specific stimulus feature modulates attentional allocation towards task-irrelevant, bottom-up deviations.
- To determine how the brain prioritizes information when attended features and unexpected stimuli interact.
Main Methods:
- Measured the P3 event-related potential (ERP) as an electrophysiological marker of attentional allocation.
- Presented target and non-target objects serially, introducing bottom-up deviations via feature changes or distractor objects.
- Compared P3 responses to deviations in target versus non-target trials.
Main Results:
- The P3 'deviant effect' was larger for deviations within attended objects (target trials) compared to non-target trials.
- Conversely, the P3 'deviant effect' was smaller for deviations outside attended objects (distractor trials) compared to non-target trials.
- These results indicate modulation of attentional allocation based on the spatial relationship between attended features and deviations.
Conclusions:
- Top-down attention significantly influences the processing of bottom-up deviations, enhancing allocation to deviations within attended objects.
- Attentional allocation is inhibited for deviations occurring outside attended objects, suggesting a competitive advantage for stimuli sharing attended features.
- These findings highlight the powerful role of top-down control in prioritizing relevant information even amidst unexpected events.
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