Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

Neural Regulation01:37

Neural Regulation

Digestion begins with a cephalic phase that prepares the digestive system to receive food. When our brain processes visual or olfactory information about food, it triggers impulses in the cranial nerves innervating the salivary glands and stomach to prepare for food.

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

The structure of correlated variability reflects task-relevant information in sensory neurons.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2026
Same author

Structural insights into TNF-α inhibition by bioactive compounds found in plants of North East India: in vitro validation and in silico investigations using QSAR, molecular docking, and dynamics simulations.

Molecular diversity·2026
Same author

Simultaneous enhancement of stimulus-induced and stimulus-free gamma in open-eye meditators.

Imaging neuroscience (Cambridge, Mass.)·2026
Same author

Attention-related modulation in the superior colliculus encodes perceptual sensitivity, but not perceptual choice.

Nature communications·2026
Same author

Neuronal normalization in monkey MT is an intensity-weighted average.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2025
Same author

Ethnomedicinal and indigenous healing practices of the Tripuri people of Northeast India.

Journal of ethnobiology and ethnomedicine·2025

Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 24, 2026

Measuring Attention and Visual Processing Speed by Model-based Analysis of Temporal-order Judgments
13:00

Measuring Attention and Visual Processing Speed by Model-based Analysis of Temporal-order Judgments

Published on: January 23, 2017

Tuned normalization explains the size of attention modulations.

Amy M Ni1, Supratim Ray, John H R Maunsell

  • 1Department of Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School, 220 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, USA.

Neuron
|February 28, 2012
PubMed
Summary

Neural processing variability, not attention signals, explains differences in how neurons respond to stimuli. This research clarifies how attention affects neural firing rates in the visual cortex.

More Related Videos

Measurement of Neurophysiological Signals of Ignoring and Attending Processes in Attention Control
09:37

Measurement of Neurophysiological Signals of Ignoring and Attending Processes in Attention Control

Published on: July 5, 2015

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: May 24, 2026

Measuring Attention and Visual Processing Speed by Model-based Analysis of Temporal-order Judgments
13:00

Measuring Attention and Visual Processing Speed by Model-based Analysis of Temporal-order Judgments

Published on: January 23, 2017

Measurement of Neurophysiological Signals of Ignoring and Attending Processes in Attention Control
09:37

Measurement of Neurophysiological Signals of Ignoring and Attending Processes in Attention Control

Published on: July 5, 2015

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Computational Neuroscience
  • Systems Neuroscience

Background:

  • Attention significantly impacts neural firing rates, but this effect varies greatly across individual neurons within the same brain region.
  • The underlying reasons for this neuronal variability in attention modulation remain largely unknown.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the sources of variability in attention-modulated neural firing rates within a cortical area.
  • To determine if neuronal differences in processing multiple stimuli explain attention effects.

Main Methods:

  • Recorded neural activity in area MT of macaque monkeys.
  • Analyzed the relationship between attention, neuronal firing rates, and the strength of tuned normalization.
  • Examined responses to single and dual stimulus presentations within a neuron's receptive field.

Main Results:

  • Variability in attention modulation across neurons in area MT is explained by differences in the strength of tuned normalization.
  • Tuned normalization accounts for an asymmetry in attention effects: attention to the preferred stimulus yields greater modulation than attention to the nonpreferred stimulus.
  • The findings suggest neuronal processing differences, not top-down attention signals, are the primary driver of response variability.

Conclusions:

  • Neuronal variability in attention effects is largely determined by how individual neurons process multiple stimuli.
  • Tuned normalization is a key mechanism explaining both inter-neuronal variability and intra-neuronal asymmetries in attention modulation.
  • This work shifts focus from top-down attention signals to intrinsic neuronal processing mechanisms for understanding response variability.