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Investigating the Deployment of Visual Attention Before Accurate and Averaging Saccades via Eye Tracking and Assessment of Visual Sensitivity
Published on: March 18, 2019
Spatial attention influences trial-by-trial relationships between response time and functional connectivity in the
Jérôme Prado1, Daniel H Weissman
1Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208, USA. jerome-prado@northwestern.edu
Neuroimage
|August 26, 2010
Summary
Spatial attention influences brain connectivity, not just activity, impacting response times. This study reveals how functional connectivity changes with attention, affecting how quickly we process visual information.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Neuroscience
- Neuroimaging
Background:
- Response time (RT) variations in selective attention tasks correlate with brain activity and connectivity in sensory areas.
- The influence of spatial attention on these relationships remains unclear.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how spatial attention modulates the relationship between brain activity/connectivity and response time variations.
- To explore the role of functional connectivity in mediating the effects of spatial attention on visual processing.
Main Methods:
- Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used to record brain activity in fourteen healthy adults.
- Participants performed a covert spatial attention task with bilateral visual stimuli.
- Analysis focused on activity and functional connectivity in visual sensory regions.
Main Results:
- Attentional enhancement of activity in the middle occipital gyrus was observed when attention was directed contralaterally.
- Response time variations were not linked to the magnitude of this attentional activity enhancement.
- Response time variations were associated with opposing functional connectivity changes between contralateral middle occipital regions and the left fusiform gyrus.
Conclusions:
- Trial-by-trial response time variations are partly explained by changes in functional connectivity.
- Spatial attention enhances functional connectivity between sensory regions processing relevant stimuli, influencing processing speed.
