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Updated: Aug 9, 2026
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Topographical Estimation of Visual Population Receptive Fields by fMRI
Published on: February 3, 2015
ERP and fMRI measures of visual spatial selective attention
G R Mangun1, M H Buonocore, M Girelli
1Department of Psychology, University of California, Davis 95616, USA. grmangun@ucdavis.edu
Human Brain Mapping
|October 27, 1998
Summary
This study used fMRI and ERPs to examine individual differences in brain activity related to spatial attention. Findings confirm consistent neural effects in visual cortex for attended stimuli across subjects.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cognitive Neuroscience
- Visual Attention
Background:
- Previous research utilized event-related potential (ERP) and positron emission tomography (PET) to study spatial attention mechanisms.
- Prior group-averaged data indicated neural activations in extrastriate cortex for attended stimuli, correlating with ERP modulations.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate intersubject variability in extrastriate spatial attention effects using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and ERPs in single subjects.
- To qualitatively compare individual fMRI attention effects with variations in ERP attention effects.
Main Methods:
- Employed simultaneous functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and electroencephalography (EEG) to record brain activity in individual participants.
- Utilized a spatial attention task to elicit differential neural responses to attended versus unattended visual stimuli.
- Analyzed fMRI data for blood flow changes and ERP data for electrophysiological markers of attention.
Main Results:
- Single-subject fMRI activations replicated prior group-averaged PET findings, revealing attention-related increases in blood flow.
- Observed significant activations in the posterior fusiform and middle occipital gyri contralateral to attended visual stimuli.
- All subjects exhibited attentional modulations of the occipital P1 component in the ERPs.
Conclusions:
- Demonstrated the consistency of extrastriate spatial attention effects across individual subjects.
- Confirmed the feasibility of integrating electrical (ERP) and functional (fMRI) imaging data for studying attention.
- Provides valuable insights into the neural basis of individual differences in visual attention.
