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Updated: May 18, 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
Two cognitive and neural systems for endogenous and exogenous spatial attention
Ana B Chica1, Paolo Bartolomeo, Juan Lupiáñez
1INSERM-UPMC UMRS 975, Brain and Spine Institute, Groupe Hospitalier Pitié-Salpêtrière, Paris, France. anachica@ugr.es
Behavioural Brain Research
|September 25, 2012
Summary
Spatial attention is guided by top-down (endogenous) and bottom-up (exogenous) mechanisms. Behavioral evidence suggests these systems are independent, with distinct effects and neural substrates.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Neuroscience
- Neuroscience
- Psychology
Background:
- Spatial attention mechanisms select information for processing.
- Endogenous attention is goal-directed, while exogenous attention is stimulus-driven.
- Fronto-parietal networks are crucial for spatial attention, but their organization is debated.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review behavioral evidence on endogenous and exogenous spatial attention.
- To investigate whether these systems are independent or unified.
- To explore their neural underpinnings and interactions.
Main Methods:
- Review of behavioral studies on spatial attention.
- Analysis of qualitative differences and double dissociations between attention systems.
- Consideration of neuroimaging and neurostimulation data.
Main Results:
- Behavioral studies show qualitative differences and double dissociations between endogenous and exogenous attention.
- Evidence suggests two independent attentional systems rather than a single one.
- Neural substrates involve overlapping but partially segregated fronto-parietal circuits.
Conclusions:
- Endogenous and exogenous spatial orienting are independent attentional systems.
- They exhibit distinct behavioral effects and partially separate neural substrates.
- Further research is needed to fully elucidate their neural implementation.
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