1
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Pan WN, Zhao YW, Luo ZX, Chen Y, Cai YC. Attention modulates early visual processing: An association between subjective contrast perception and early C1 ERP component. Psychophysiology 2024; 61:e14507. [PMID: 38146152 DOI: 10.1111/psyp.14507] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2023] [Revised: 11/26/2023] [Accepted: 11/28/2023] [Indexed: 12/27/2023]
Abstract
The question of whether spatial attention can modulate initial afferent activity in area V1, as measured by the earliest visual event-related potential (ERP) component "C1", is still the subject of debate. Because attention always enhances behavioral performance, previous research has focused on finding evidence of attention-related enhancements in visual neural responses. However, recent psychophysical studies revealed a complex picture of attention's influence on visual perception: attention amplifies the perceived contrast of low-contrast stimuli while dampening the perceived contrast of high-contrast stimuli. This evidence suggests that attention may not invariably augment visual neural responses but could instead exert inhibitory effects under certain circumstances. Whether this bi-directional modulation of attention also manifests in C1 and whether the modulation of C1 underpins the attentional influence on contrast perception remain unknown. To address these questions, we conducted two experiments (N = 67 in total) by employing a combination of behavioral and ERP methodologies. Our results did not unveil a uniform attentional enhancement or attenuation effect of C1 across all subjects. However, an intriguing correlation between the attentional effects of C1 and contrast appearance for high-contrast stimuli did emerge, revealing an association between attentional modulation of C1 and the attentional modulation of contrast appearance. This finding offers new insights into the relationship between attention, perceptual experience, and early visual neural processing, suggesting that the attentional effect on subjective visual perception could be mediated by the attentional modulation of the earliest visual cortical response.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wang-Nan Pan
- Department of Psychology and Behavioral Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Yu-Wan Zhao
- Department of Psychology and Behavioral Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Zi-Xi Luo
- Department of Psychology and Behavioral Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Yue Chen
- Department of Psychology and Behavioral Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Yong-Chun Cai
- Department of Psychology and Behavioral Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
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2
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Qin N, Wiens S, Rauss K, Pourtois G. Effects of selective attention on the C1 ERP component: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Psychophysiology 2022; 59:e14123. [PMID: 35751845 DOI: 10.1111/psyp.14123] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/04/2022] [Revised: 03/14/2022] [Accepted: 05/09/2022] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
The C1 event-related potential (ERP) captures the earliest stage of feedforward processing in the primary visual cortex (V1). An ongoing debate is whether top-down selective attention can modulate the C1. One side of the debate pointed out that null findings appear to outnumber positive findings; thus, selective attention does not seem to influence the C1. However, this suggestion is not based on a valid approach to summarizing evidence across studies. Therefore, we conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis investigating the effects of selective attention on the C1, involving 47 experiments and 794 subjects in total. Despite heterogeneity across studies, results suggested that attention has a moderate effect on the C1 (Cohen's d z $$ {d}_z $$ = 0.33, p < .0001); that is, C1 amplitude is larger for visual stimuli that are attended than unattended. These results suggest that C1 is affected by top-down selective attention.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nan Qin
- CAPLAB, Department of Experimental Clinical & Health Psychology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Stefan Wiens
- Department of Psychology, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Karsten Rauss
- Institute of Medical Psychology and Behavioral Neurobiology, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Gilles Pourtois
- CAPLAB, Department of Experimental Clinical & Health Psychology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
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3
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Brockhoff L, Schindler S, Bruchmann M, Straube T. Effects of perceptual and working memory load on brain responses to task-irrelevant stimuli: Review and implications for future research. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2022; 135:104580. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2022.104580] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/23/2021] [Revised: 01/25/2022] [Accepted: 02/12/2022] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
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4
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Mastropasqua A, Vural G, Taylor PCJ. Elements of exogenous attentional cueing preserved during optokinetic motion of the visual scene. Eur J Neurosci 2021; 55:746-761. [PMID: 34964525 DOI: 10.1111/ejn.15582] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/12/2021] [Revised: 12/14/2021] [Accepted: 12/18/2021] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
Navigating through our environment raises challenges for perception by generating salient background visual motion, and eliciting prominent eye movements to stabilise the retinal image. It remains unclear if exogenous spatial attentional orienting is possible during background motion and the eye movements it causes, and whether this compromises the underlying neural processing. To test this, we combined exogenous orienting, visual scene motion, and EEG. 26 participants viewed a background of moving black and grey bars (optokinetic stimulation). We tested for effects of non-spatially predictive peripheral cueing on visual motion discrimination of a target dot, presented either at the same (valid) or opposite (invalid) location as the preceding cue. Valid cueing decreased reaction times not only when participants kept their gaze fixed on a central point (fixation blocks), but even when there was no fixation point, so that participants performed intensive, repetitive tracking eye movements (eye movements blocks). Overall, manual response reaction times were slower during eye movements. Cueing also produced reliable effects on neural activity on either block, including within the first 120 milliseconds of neural processing of the target. The key pattern with larger ERP amplitudes on invalid versus valid trials showed that the neural substrate of exogenous cueing was highly similar during eye movements or fixation. Exogenous peripheral cueing and its neural correlates are robust against distraction from the moving visual scene, important for perceptual cognition during navigation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Angela Mastropasqua
- Danish Research Centre for Magnetic Resonance, Centre for Functional and Diagnostic Imaging and Research, Copenhagen University Hospital - Amager and Hvidovre, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Gizem Vural
- Department of Forensic Psychiatry, Psychiatric Hospital of the LMU Munich, Germany
| | - Paul C J Taylor
- Department of Neurology, University Hospital, LMU Munich, Germany.,German Center for Vertigo and Balance Disorders, University Hospital, LMU Munich, Germany.,Department of Psychology, LMU Munich, Germany.,Faculty of Philosophy and Philosophy of Science, LMU Munich, Germany.,Munich Center for Neuroscience, LMU Munich, Germany
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5
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Wolf MI, Bruchmann M, Pourtois G, Schindler S, Straube T. Top-Down Modulation of Early Visual Processing in V1: Dissociable Neurophysiological Effects of Spatial Attention, Attentional Load and Task-Relevance. Cereb Cortex 2021; 32:2112-2128. [PMID: 34607356 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhab342] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/26/2021] [Revised: 08/25/2021] [Accepted: 08/26/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Until today, there is an ongoing discussion if attention processes interact with the information processing stream already at the level of the C1, the earliest visual electrophysiological response of the cortex. We used two highly powered experiments (each N = 52) and examined the effects of task relevance, spatial attention, and attentional load on individual C1 amplitudes for the upper or lower visual hemifield. Bayesian models revealed evidence for the absence of load effects but substantial modulations by task-relevance and spatial attention. When the C1-eliciting stimulus was a task-irrelevant, interfering distracter, we observed increased C1 amplitudes for spatially unattended stimuli. For spatially attended stimuli, different effects of task-relevance for the two experiments were found. Follow-up exploratory single-trial analyses revealed that subtle but systematic deviations from the eye-gaze position at stimulus onset between conditions substantially influenced the effects of attention and task relevance on C1 amplitudes, especially for the upper visual field. For the subsequent P1 component, attentional modulations were clearly expressed and remained unaffected by these deviations. Collectively, these results suggest that spatial attention, unlike load or task relevance, can exert dissociable top-down modulatory effects at the C1 and P1 levels.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maren-Isabel Wolf
- Institute of Medical Psychology and Systems Neuroscience, University of Münster, Münster, Germany.,Department of Experimental-Clinical and Health Psychology, Ghent University Ghent, Belgium.,Department of Systems Neuroscience, University Medical Center Hamburg Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Maximilian Bruchmann
- Institute of Medical Psychology and Systems Neuroscience, University of Münster, Münster, Germany.,Otto Creutzfeldt Center for Cognitive and Behavioral Neuroscience, University of Münster, Münster, Germany
| | - Gilles Pourtois
- Department of Experimental-Clinical and Health Psychology, Ghent University Ghent, Belgium
| | - Sebastian Schindler
- Institute of Medical Psychology and Systems Neuroscience, University of Münster, Münster, Germany.,Otto Creutzfeldt Center for Cognitive and Behavioral Neuroscience, University of Münster, Münster, Germany
| | - Thomas Straube
- Institute of Medical Psychology and Systems Neuroscience, University of Münster, Münster, Germany.,Otto Creutzfeldt Center for Cognitive and Behavioral Neuroscience, University of Münster, Münster, Germany
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6
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Proverbio AM, Broido V, De Benedetto F, Zani A. Scalp-recorded N40 visual evoked potential: Sensory and attentional properties. Eur J Neurosci 2021; 54:6553-6574. [PMID: 34486754 PMCID: PMC9293152 DOI: 10.1111/ejn.15443] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2020] [Revised: 08/23/2021] [Accepted: 08/28/2021] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
N40 is a well-known component of evoked potentials with respect to the auditory and somatosensory modality but not much recognized with regard to the visual modality. To be detected with event-related potentials (ERPs), it requires an optimal signal-to-noise ratio. To investigate the nature of visual N40, we recorded EEG/ERP signals from 20 participants. Each of them was presented with 1800 spatial frequency gratings of 0.75, 1.5, 3 and 6 c/deg. Data were collected from 128 sites while participants were engaged in both passive viewing and attention conditions. N40 (30-55 ms) was modulated by alertness and selective attention; in fact, it was larger to targets than irrelevant and passively viewed spatial frequency gratings. Its strongest intracranial sources were the bilateral thalamic nuclei of pulvinar, according to swLORETA. The active network included precuneus, insula and inferior parietal lobule. An N80 component (60-90 ms) was also identified, which was larger to targets than irrelevant/passive stimuli and more negative to high than low spatial frequencies. In contrast, N40 was not sensitive to spatial frequency per se, nor did it show a polarity inversion as a function of spatial frequency. Attention, alertness and spatial frequency effects were also found for the later components P1, N2 and P300. The attentional effects increased in magnitude over time. The data showed that ERPs can pick up the earliest synchronized activity, deriving in part from thalamic nuclei, before the visual information has actually reached the occipital cortex.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alice Mado Proverbio
- Department of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy.,Milan Center for Neuroscience (NeuroMi), University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy
| | - Veronica Broido
- Department of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy
| | | | - Alberto Zani
- School of Psychology, Vita Salute San Raffaele University, Milan, Italy
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7
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Schindler S, Bruchmann M, Gathmann B, Moeck R, Straube T. Effects of low-level visual information and perceptual load on P1 and N170 responses to emotional expressions. Cortex 2020; 136:14-27. [PMID: 33450599 DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2020.12.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 50] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/04/2020] [Revised: 08/28/2020] [Accepted: 12/09/2020] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Abstract
Emotional facial expressions lead to modulations of early event-related potentials (ERPs). However, it has so far remained unclear how far these modulations represent face-specific effects rather than differences in low-level visual features, and to which extent they depend on available processing resources. To examine these questions, we conducted two preregistered independent experiments (N = 40 in each experiment) using different variants of a novel task that manipulates peripheral perceptual load across levels but keeps overall visual stimulation constant. At the display center, we presented task-irrelevant angry, neutral, and happy faces and their Fourier phase-scrambled versions, which preserved low-level visual features. The results of both studies showed load-independent P1 and N170 emotional expression effects. Importantly, by using Bayesian analyses we could confirm that these facial expression effects were face-independent for the P1 but not for the N170 component. We conclude that firstly, ERP modulations during the P1 interval strongly depend on low-level visual information, while the N170 modulation requires the processing of figural facial expression features. Secondly, both P1 and N170 modulations appear to be immune to a large range of variations in perceptual load.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sebastian Schindler
- Institute of Medical Psychology and Systems Neuroscience, University of Muenster, Germany; Otto Creutzfeldt Center for Cognitive and Behavioral Neuroscience, University of Muenster, Germany.
| | - Maximilian Bruchmann
- Institute of Medical Psychology and Systems Neuroscience, University of Muenster, Germany; Otto Creutzfeldt Center for Cognitive and Behavioral Neuroscience, University of Muenster, Germany
| | - Bettina Gathmann
- Institute of Medical Psychology and Systems Neuroscience, University of Muenster, Germany
| | - Robert Moeck
- Institute of Medical Psychology and Systems Neuroscience, University of Muenster, Germany
| | - Thomas Straube
- Institute of Medical Psychology and Systems Neuroscience, University of Muenster, Germany; Otto Creutzfeldt Center for Cognitive and Behavioral Neuroscience, University of Muenster, Germany
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8
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Zani A, Proverbio AM. Spatial attention modulates earliest visual processing: An electrical neuroimaging study. Heliyon 2020; 6:e05570. [PMID: 33294702 PMCID: PMC7695965 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2020.e05570] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/15/2020] [Revised: 06/03/2020] [Accepted: 11/18/2020] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Several studies showed that shifting of visuospatial attention modulates sensory processing at multiple levels of the visual pathways and beyond, including the occipital striate cortices level. However, inconsistent findings have been reported thus leaving these issues still disputed. 21 participants took part to the present study (the EEG signals of 4 of them were discarded due to artifacts). We used ERPs and their neural sources to investigate whether shifting spatial attention in space across the horizontal meridian of the visual field affected striate cortices activation at the earliest latency. Time-series of scalp topographical maps indicated that, unlike ERPs to attentional-neutral central cues, ERPs to attention-directing local cues showed earliest polarity inversions as a function of stimulated field and processing latency range considered, at occipital-parietal electrodes. In between 60-75 ms, attentional shifting cues elicited a positivity for both visual fields, whereas at a later latency (75–90 ms) they elicited a positivity and a negativity for the upper and lower visual hemifields, respectively. Computed neural sources included striate, besides extrastriate, cortices for both visual hemifields and latency ranges. Conjointly, behavioral responses to targets were faster when they were preceded by local than by neutral cues, and when presented in the upper than the lower hemifield. Our findings support the hypothesis that attention shifts may affect early sensory processing in visual cortices.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alberto Zani
- School of Psychology, Vita Salute San Raffaele University, Milan, Italy.,Neuro-Mi Center for Neuroscience, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy
| | - Alice Mado Proverbio
- Department of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy.,Neuro-Mi Center for Neuroscience, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy
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9
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Time-dependent effects of perceptual load on processing fearful and neutral faces. Neuropsychologia 2020; 146:107529. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2020.107529] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/24/2019] [Revised: 05/27/2020] [Accepted: 06/08/2020] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
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10
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Spatial attention affects the early processing of neutral versus fearful faces when they are task-irrelevant: a classifier study of the EEG C1 component. COGNITIVE AFFECTIVE & BEHAVIORAL NEUROSCIENCE 2020; 19:123-137. [PMID: 30341623 DOI: 10.3758/s13415-018-00650-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/20/2023]
Abstract
EEG studies suggest that the emotional content of visual stimuli is processed rapidly. In particular, the C1 component, which occurs up to 100 ms after stimulus onset and likely reflects activity in primary visual cortex V1, has been reported to be sensitive to emotional faces. However, difficulties replicating these results have been reported. We hypothesized that the nature of the task and attentional condition are key to reconcile the conflicting findings. We report three experiments of EEG activity during the C1 time range elicited by peripherally presented neutral and fearful faces under various attentional conditions: the faces were spatially attended or unattended and were either task-relevant or not. Using traditional event-related potential analysis, we found that the early activity changed depending on facial expression, attentional condition, and task. In addition, we trained classifiers to discriminate the different conditions from the EEG signals. Although the classifiers were not able to discriminate between facial expressions in any condition, they uncovered differences between spatially attended and unattended faces but solely when these were task-irrelevant. In addition, this effect was only present for neutral faces. Our study provides further indication that attention and task are key parameters when measuring early differences between emotional and neutral visual stimuli.
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11
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Sarasso P, Ronga I, Kobau P, Bosso T, Artusio I, Ricci R, Neppi-Modona M. Beauty in mind: Aesthetic appreciation correlates with perceptual facilitation and attentional amplification. Neuropsychologia 2019; 136:107282. [PMID: 31770549 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2019.107282] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/18/2019] [Revised: 11/21/2019] [Accepted: 11/22/2019] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Neuroaesthetic research suggests that aesthetic appreciation results from the interaction between the object perceptual features and the perceiver's sensory processing dynamics. In the present study, we investigated the relationship between aesthetic appreciation and attentional modulation at a behavioural and psychophysiological level. In a first experiment, fifty-eight healthy participants performed a visual search task with abstract stimuli containing more or less natural spatial frequencies and subsequently were asked to give an aesthetic evaluation of the images. The results evidenced that response times were faster for more appreciated stimuli. In a second experiment, we recorded visual evoked potentials (VEPs) during exposure to the same stimuli. The results showed, only for more appreciated images, an enhancement in C1 and N1, P3 and N4 VEP components. Moreover, we found increased attention-related occipital alpha desynchronization for more appreciated images. We interpret these data as indicative of the existence of a correlation between aesthetic appreciation and perceptual processing enhancement, both at a behavioural and at a neurophysiological level.
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Affiliation(s)
- P Sarasso
- SAMBA (SpAtial Motor & Bodily Awareness) Research Group, Department of Psychology, University of Turin, Italy; Imaging and Cerebral Plasticity Research Group, Department of Psychology, University of Turin, Italy.
| | - I Ronga
- Imaging and Cerebral Plasticity Research Group, Department of Psychology, University of Turin, Italy.
| | - P Kobau
- Department of Philosophy and Education Sciences, University of Turin, Italy
| | - T Bosso
- SAMBA (SpAtial Motor & Bodily Awareness) Research Group, Department of Psychology, University of Turin, Italy
| | - I Artusio
- SAMBA (SpAtial Motor & Bodily Awareness) Research Group, Department of Psychology, University of Turin, Italy
| | - R Ricci
- SAMBA (SpAtial Motor & Bodily Awareness) Research Group, Department of Psychology, University of Turin, Italy
| | - M Neppi-Modona
- SAMBA (SpAtial Motor & Bodily Awareness) Research Group, Department of Psychology, University of Turin, Italy
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12
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Center EG, Knight R, Fabiani M, Gratton G, Beck DM. Examining the role of feedback in TMS-induced visual suppression: A cautionary tale. Conscious Cogn 2019; 75:102805. [DOI: 10.1016/j.concog.2019.102805] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/09/2019] [Revised: 07/04/2019] [Accepted: 08/10/2019] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
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13
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Perri RL, Berchicci M, Bianco V, Quinzi F, Spinelli D, Di Russo F. Perceptual load in decision making: The role of anterior insula and visual areas. An ERP study. Neuropsychologia 2019; 129:65-71. [PMID: 30902649 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2019.03.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2018] [Revised: 02/11/2019] [Accepted: 03/17/2019] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
Abstract
The present study aimed at describing the effects of perceptual load on neurocognitive processes of decision-making. To this aim, we used a visual-motor discriminative task in which pairs of stimuli were assigned to either target or non-target categories. For each category, stimulus configuration was defined as simple or complex according to orientation and arrangement of the constituent segments. Analyses of prefrontal ERPs revealed that the pP1 component (at 180 ms) was larger for complex stimuli than simple for both categories, and the same result was found for the pP2 component (at 320 ms). Occipital ERPs revealed effects of perceptual load on the N1 component, but not on the mainly exogenous P1 component, indicating that amplitude modulations of prefrontal ERPs were not due to physical difference between simple and complex stimuli. Based on the recent literature, we discussed the pP1 activity as reflecting a process of sensory-motor integration, and the pP2 as a stimulus-response mapping process resulting from two gradients of activity: one category-based (larger for target than non-target stimuli), the other decision effort-based (enhanced when categorization implied a greater attentional load). Previous ERP-fMRI studies and present source analysis support the view that prefrontal ERPs were generated mainly by activity in the anterior Insula.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rinaldo Livio Perri
- Dept. of Movement, Human and Health Sciences, University of Rome "Foro Italico", Italy; University of Rome "Niccolò Cusano", Italy.
| | - Marika Berchicci
- Dept. of Movement, Human and Health Sciences, University of Rome "Foro Italico", Italy
| | | | | | - Donatella Spinelli
- Dept. of Movement, Human and Health Sciences, University of Rome "Foro Italico", Italy
| | - Francesco Di Russo
- Dept. of Movement, Human and Health Sciences, University of Rome "Foro Italico", Italy
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14
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Zhang Q, Liang T, Zhang J, Fu X, Wu J. Electrophysiological evidence for temporal dynamics associated with attentional processing in the zoom lens paradigm. PeerJ 2018; 6:e4538. [PMID: 29632741 PMCID: PMC5888137 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.4538] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2018] [Accepted: 03/06/2018] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Visuospatial processing requires wide distribution or narrow focusing of attention to certain regions in space. This mechanism is described by the zoom lens model and predicts an inverse correlation between the efficiency of processing and the size of the attentional scope. Little is known, however, about the exact timing of the effects of attentional scaling on visual searching and whether or not additional processing phases are involved in this process. Method Electroencephalographic recordings were made while participants performed a visual search task under different attentional scaling conditions. Two concentric circles of different sizes, presented to the participants at the center of a screen modulated the attentional scopes, and search arrays were distributed in the space areas indicated by these concentric circles. To ensure consistent eccentricity of the search arrays across different conditions, we limited our studies to the neural responses evoked by the search arrays distributed in the overlapping region of different attentional scopes. Results Consistent with the prediction of the zoom lens model, our behavioral data showed that reaction times for target discrimination of search arrays decreased and the associated error rates also significantly decreased, with narrowing the attentional scope. Results of the event-related potential analysis showed that the target-elicited amplitude of lateral occipital N1, rather than posterior P1, which reflects the earliest visuospatial attentional processing, was sensitive to changes in the scaling of visuospatial attention, indicating that the modulation of the effect of changes in the spatial scale of attention on visual processing occurred after the delay period of P1. The N1 generator exhibited higher activity as the attentional scope narrowed, reflecting more intensive processing resources within the attentional focus. In contrast to N1, the amplitude of N2pc increased with the expansion of the attentional focus, suggesting that observers might further redistribute attentional resources according to the increased task difficulty. Conclusion These findings provide electrophysiological evidence that the neural activity of the N1 generator is the earliest marker of the zoom lens effect of visual spatial attention. Furthermore, evidence from N2pc shows that there is also a redistribution of attentional resources after the action of the zoom lens mechanism, which allows for better perform of the search task in the context of low attentional resolution. On the basis of the timing of P1, N1, and N2pc, our findings provide compelling evidence that visuospatial attention processing in the zoom lens paradigm involves multi-stage dynamic processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qing Zhang
- Department of Radiology, Affiliated Zhongshan Hospital of Dalian University, Dalian, Liaoning Province, China
| | - Tengfei Liang
- Research Center of Brain and Cognitive Neuroscience, Liaoning Normal University, Dalian, Liaoning Province, China
| | - Jiafeng Zhang
- Research Center of Brain and Cognitive Neuroscience, Liaoning Normal University, Dalian, Liaoning Province, China
| | - Xueying Fu
- Research Center of Brain and Cognitive Neuroscience, Liaoning Normal University, Dalian, Liaoning Province, China
| | - Jianlin Wu
- Department of Radiology, Affiliated Zhongshan Hospital of Dalian University, Dalian, Liaoning Province, China
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15
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Huang W, Liu S, Luo B, Meng H, Ji M, Li M, Chen X, Tao L. Automatic Conflict Monitoring by Event-Related Potentials Could be used to Estimate Visual Acuity Levels. Neuroscience 2018; 374:1-12. [PMID: 29378281 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2018.01.033] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/20/2017] [Revised: 01/15/2018] [Accepted: 01/16/2018] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
Numerous studies have explored the physical attribute features or face perceptions in conflict processing, while complicate gradient conflicts were rarely discussed. The aim of the study was to discuss the relationship between the event-related potential (ERP) component features and different visual acuity levels by using the modified S1-S2 task under non-attention status. Three visual acuity levels were applied, each with four orientations of "E" optotype stimuli randomly presented in the center of the visual field while participants were required to concentrate on listening to stories. The results showed that the amplitudes of P1 and P3 as well as difference P3 were larger in supra-threshold condition. In threshold condition, larger amplitudes for both N2 and difference N2 exhibited in frontal and central areas. In sub-threshold condition, there was no endogenous component elicited by mismatch stimuli except smaller anterior N1. Meanwhile, the specific distributions of N1 and N2 were presented and compared with previous face processing. The findings showed that visual conflict processing took place not only at an early stage but also at the late period, which might be as the consequences of interaction between conflict strength and involuntary attention. We concluded that automatic conflict detecting of visual icons by the serial ERP components could distinguish different visual acuity levels. The involvement of endogenous components could reveal the specific mechanism of more precise and fine conflict identification of complex physical attributes under non-attention status, furthermore could be used as valid markers to estimate the magnitude of visual acuity objectively.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wenwen Huang
- Department of Forensic Science, Soochow University, 215021 Suzhou, China
| | - Sinan Liu
- Department of Forensic Science, Soochow University, 215021 Suzhou, China
| | - Bin Luo
- Department of Forensic Science, Soochow University, 215021 Suzhou, China
| | - Huanhuan Meng
- Department of Forensic Science, Soochow University, 215021 Suzhou, China
| | - Mengmeng Ji
- Department of Forensic Science, Soochow University, 215021 Suzhou, China
| | - Maojuan Li
- Department of Forensic Science, Soochow University, 215021 Suzhou, China
| | - Xiping Chen
- Department of Forensic Science, Soochow University, 215021 Suzhou, China.
| | - Luyang Tao
- Department of Forensic Science, Soochow University, 215021 Suzhou, China.
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Abstract
In a discussion paper (Slotnick, this issue), I conducted a selective review of spatial attention studies to compare experimental parameters and determine whether particular stimulus, task, or analysis conditions were more likely to produce significant attentional modulation of the event-related potential (ERP) C1 component. It was concluded that to maximize C1 attention effects, stimuli should be in the upper visual field, there should be distractors, conditions should be high perceptual or attentional load, there should be exogenous cuing, and effects should be measured at midline parietal-occipital electrodes POz, Pz, and CPz. Commentaries were received by Fu (this issue), Qu and Ding (this issue), Zani and Proverbio (this issue), Pitts and Hillyard (this issue), Di Russo (this issue), and Mohr and Kelly (this issue). Comments included additional ideas to amplify C1 attention effects, support for some conclusions, and challenges to some conclusions. The challenges led to a more in depth analysis of many issues pertaining to C1 attention effects including optimal electrode and stimulus locations, null V1 source localization attention effects, whether all significant C1 attention effects can be discounted, and the number of studies with null versus significant C1 attention effects. Analysis of the studies that survived critical analysis, which included several that observed significant C1 attention effects, led to the same conclusions as Slotnick (this issue). Lines of future research include replicating studies that have observed C1 attention effects using identical experimental parameters and systematically manipulating parameters to determine the impact of each parameter on C1 spatial attention effects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Scott D Slotnick
- a Department of Psychology , Boston College , Chestnut Hill , MA , USA
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Baumgartner HM, Graulty CJ, Hillyard SA, Pitts MA. Does spatial attention modulate the C1 component? The jury continues to deliberate. Cogn Neurosci 2017; 9:34-37. [PMID: 28956499 DOI: 10.1080/17588928.2017.1386169] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
The thoughful comments on our study (Baumgartner et al., this issue) that failed to replicate the C1 attention effect reported by a previous study roughly fall into three broad categories. First, the commentators identified specific differences between the two studies that may have contributed to the discrepant results. Second, they highlighted some of the theoretical and methodological problems that are encountered when trying to demonstrate attention effects on the initial evoked response in primary visual cortex. Third, they offered a number of proposals for optimizing experimental designs and analysis methods that may increase the likelihood of observing attention-related modulations of the C1. We consider each of these topics in turn.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Steven A Hillyard
- c Department of Neurosciences , University of California San Diego , La Jolla , CA , USA
| | - Michael A Pitts
- b Department of Psychology , Reed College , Portland , OR , USA
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Mohr KS, Kelly SP. The spatiotemporal characteristics of the C1 component and its modulation by attention. Cogn Neurosci 2017; 9:71-74. [PMID: 28971714 DOI: 10.1080/17588928.2017.1386642] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
Slotnick (this issue) provided a selective review of studies on the attentional modulation of the C1 component of the visual evoked potential, and offers a number of guidelines to maximize the likelihood of observing such modulation in terms of electrode choice, stimulus placement, and types of attentional cue and target stimulus. However, the broader literature pertaining to attentional modulation of the C1 does not support many of these guidelines, and the question of why exactly C1 modulations are so rare remains very much open. Here, we provide clarifications that are critical to an accurate appraisal of the current state of this literature.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kieran S Mohr
- a School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering , University College Dublin , Dublin , Ireland
| | - Simon P Kelly
- a School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering , University College Dublin , Dublin , Ireland
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Pitts MA, Hillyard SA. Still wanted: a reproducible demonstration of a genuine C1 attention effect. Cogn Neurosci 2017; 9:68-70. [PMID: 28975858 DOI: 10.1080/17588928.2017.1388226] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
Slotnick (this issue) has specified a number of experimental parameters that appear critical for enabling an attention-related modulation of the C1 component. These include stimulus presentation in the upper visual field, the presence of distractors, a high perceptual or attentional load, and measurements at midline occipito-parietal sites. While we agree with many of these recommendations, we would modify others and even dispute a few. Despite the employment of these parameters in a few existing studies, there has not yet been a convincing, reproducible demonstration of a modulation of the C1 component by spatial attention that can be localized to primary visual cortex.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael A Pitts
- a Department of Psychology , Reed College , Portland , OR , USA
| | - Steven A Hillyard
- b Department of Neurosciences , University of California , La Jolla , CA , USA
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Fu S. 'Tricks' for revealing potential attentional modulations on the C1 component. Cogn Neurosci 2017; 9:63-64. [PMID: 28944720 DOI: 10.1080/17588928.2017.1384376] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
The t-test formula for a within-subject design suggests that the C1 attentional effect is more likely to be significant if the C1 attentional difference, as the numerator, is large and the standard deviation of the C1 difference that affects the denominator is small. Experimental manipulations for exploring potential C1 attentional effects can be evaluated by their contributions to the numerator and/or the denominator of the t-test formula. 'Tricks' that may enhance the C1 attentional difference and minimize the standard deviation of the sampled C1 are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shimin Fu
- a Department of Psychology and Center for Brain and Cognitive Sciences, School of Education , Guangzhou University , Guangzhou , China
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Fu S. Open and cautious towards the "minority view". Cogn Neurosci 2017; 9:28-30. [PMID: 28874090 DOI: 10.1080/17588928.2017.1375472] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
According to the 'minority view', the initial afferent processing on C1 can be modulated by attention under certain experimental conditions. However, evidence supporting this 'minority view' is relatively rare and needs more replication, and the optimal conditions for eliciting attentional modulations on C1 have not yet been clearly defined. V1-tuned stimuli with distractors, peripheral cuing paradigms, and high perceptual loads seem to be important factors in favor of the 'minority view'. The signal-noise issue for C1, especially between attended and unattended conditions, needs to be considered.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shimin Fu
- a Department of Psychology and Center for Brain and Cognitive Sciences, School of Education , Guangzhou University , Guangzhou , China
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22
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Slotnick SD. The experimental parameters that affect attentional modulation of the ERP C1 component. Cogn Neurosci 2017; 9:53-62. [DOI: 10.1080/17588928.2017.1369021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
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Effects of Stimulus Size and Contrast on the Initial Primary Visual Cortical Response in Humans. Brain Topogr 2017; 30:450-460. [PMID: 28474167 DOI: 10.1007/s10548-016-0530-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/28/2016] [Accepted: 10/11/2016] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Abstract
Decades of intracranial electrophysiological investigation into the primary visual cortex (V1) have produced many fundamental insights into the computations carried out in low-level visual circuits of the brain. Some of the most important work has been simply concerned with the precise measurement of neural response variations as a function of elementary stimulus attributes such as contrast and size. Surprisingly, such simple but fundamental characterization of V1 responses has not been carried out in human electrophysiology. Here we report such a detailed characterization for the initial "C1" component of the scalp-recorded visual evoked potential (VEP). The C1 is known to be dominantly generated by initial afferent activation in V1, but is difficult to record reliably due to interindividual anatomical variability. We used pattern-pulse multifocal VEP mapping to identify a stimulus position that activates the left lower calcarine bank in each individual, and afterwards measured robust negative C1s over posterior midline scalp to gratings presented sequentially at that location. We found clear and systematic increases in C1 peak amplitude and decreases in peak latency with increasing size as well as with increasing contrast. With a sample of 15 subjects and ~180 trials per condition, reliable C1 amplitudes of -0.46 µV were evoked at as low a contrast as 3.13% and as large as -4.82 µV at 100% contrast, using stimuli of 3.33° diameter. A practical implication is that by placing sufficiently-sized stimuli to target favorable calcarine cortical loci, robust V1 responses can be measured at contrasts close to perceptual thresholds, which could greatly facilitate principled studies of early visual perception and attention.
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Dassanayake TL, Michie PT, Fulham R. Effect of temporal predictability on exogenous attentional modulation of feedforward processing in the striate cortex. Int J Psychophysiol 2016; 105:9-16. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2016.04.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/04/2016] [Revised: 04/11/2016] [Accepted: 04/21/2016] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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Tiferet-Dweck C, Hensel M, Kirschbaum C, Tzelgov J, Friedman A, Salti M. Acute Stress and Perceptual Load Consume the Same Attentional Resources: A Behavioral-ERP Study. PLoS One 2016; 11:e0154622. [PMID: 27196027 PMCID: PMC4873202 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0154622] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/24/2015] [Accepted: 04/16/2016] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Stress and perceptual load affect selective attention in a paradoxical manner. They can facilitate selectivity or disrupt it. This EEG study was designed to examine the reciprocal relations between stress, load and attention. Two groups of subjects, one that performed the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST), and a control group, were asked to respond to a target letter under low and high perceptual load in the absence or presence of a distractor. In the control group, the distractor increased response times (RTs) for high and low load. In the TSST group, distractor increased RTs under low load only. ERPs showed that distractor’s presentation attenuated early visual P1 component and shortened its latency. In the TSST group, distractor reduced P1 component under high load but did not affect its latency. Source localization demonstrated reduced activation in V1 in response to distractors presence in the P1 time window for the TSST group compared to the control group. A behavioral replication revealed that in the TSST group distractors were less perceived under high load. Taken together, our results show that stress and perceptual load affect selectivity through the early stages of visual processing and might increase selectivity in a manner that would block conscious perception of irrelevant stimuli.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chen Tiferet-Dweck
- The Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Zlotowski Center for Neuroscience, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel
- Department of Psychology, Zlotowski Center for Neuroscience, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel
- Department of Physiology and Cell Biology, Zlotowski Center for Neuroscience, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel
- * E-mail:
| | - Michael Hensel
- Department of Psychology, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - Clemens Kirschbaum
- Department of Psychology, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - Joseph Tzelgov
- The Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Zlotowski Center for Neuroscience, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel
- Department of Psychology, Zlotowski Center for Neuroscience, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel
| | - Alon Friedman
- The Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Zlotowski Center for Neuroscience, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel
- Department of Physiology and Cell Biology, Zlotowski Center for Neuroscience, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel
- Departments of Medical Neuroscience, Faculty of Medicine, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Canada
| | - Moti Salti
- The Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Zlotowski Center for Neuroscience, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel
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Tan J, Zhao Y, Wang L, Tian X, Cui Y, Yang Q, Pan W, Zhao X, Chen A. The Competitive Influences of Perceptual Load and Working Memory Guidance on Selective Attention. PLoS One 2015; 10:e0129533. [PMID: 26098079 PMCID: PMC4476695 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0129533] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/04/2015] [Accepted: 05/10/2015] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
The perceptual load theory in selective attention literature proposes that the interference from task-irrelevant distractor is eliminated when perceptual capacity is fully consumed by task-relevant information. However, the biased competition model suggests that the contents of working memory (WM) can guide attentional selection automatically, even when this guidance is detrimental to visual search. An intriguing but unsolved question is what will happen when selective attention is influenced by both perceptual load and WM guidance. To study this issue, behavioral performances and event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded when participants were presented with a cue to either identify or hold in memory and had to perform a visual search task subsequently, under conditions of low or high perceptual load. Behavioural data showed that high perceptual load eliminated the attentional capture by WM. The ERP results revealed an obvious WM guidance effect in P1 component with invalid trials eliciting larger P1 than neutral trials, regardless of the level of perceptual load. The interaction between perceptual load and WM guidance was significant for the posterior N1 component. The memory guidance effect on N1 was eliminated by high perceptual load. Standardized Low Resolution Electrical Tomography Analysis (sLORETA) showed that the WM guidance effect and the perceptual load effect on attention can be localized into the occipital area and parietal lobe, respectively. Merely identifying the cue produced no effect on the P1 or N1 component. These results suggest that in selective attention, the information held in WM could capture attention at the early stage of visual processing in the occipital cortex. Interestingly, this initial capture of attention by WM could be modulated by the level of perceptual load and the parietal lobe mediates target selection at the discrimination stage.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jinfeng Tan
- Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality of Ministry of Education, Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chong Qing, China
| | - Yuanfang Zhao
- Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality of Ministry of Education, Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chong Qing, China
| | - Lijun Wang
- Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality of Ministry of Education, Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chong Qing, China
| | - Xia Tian
- Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality of Ministry of Education, Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chong Qing, China
| | - Yan Cui
- Key Laboratory for NeuroInformation of Ministry of Education, School of Life Science and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
| | - Qian Yang
- Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality of Ministry of Education, Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chong Qing, China
| | - Weigang Pan
- Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality of Ministry of Education, Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chong Qing, China
| | - Xiaoyue Zhao
- Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality of Ministry of Education, Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chong Qing, China
| | - Antao Chen
- Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality of Ministry of Education, Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chong Qing, China
- * E-mail:
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Rossi V, Pourtois G. Electrical neuroimaging reveals content-specific effects of threat in primary visual cortex and fronto-parietal attentional networks. Neuroimage 2014; 98:11-22. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2014.04.064] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/16/2013] [Revised: 02/04/2014] [Accepted: 04/23/2014] [Indexed: 01/05/2023] Open
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Ding Y, Martinez A, Qu Z, Hillyard SA. Earliest stages of visual cortical processing are not modified by attentional load. Hum Brain Mapp 2014; 35:3008-24. [PMID: 25050422 PMCID: PMC6868971 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.22381] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/18/2013] [Revised: 06/18/2013] [Accepted: 07/19/2013] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
This study investigated the effects of attentional load on neural responses to attended and irrelevant visual stimuli by recording high-density event-related potentials (ERPs) from the scalp in normal adult subjects. Peripheral (upper and lower visual field) and central stimuli were presented in random order at a rapid rate while subjects responded to targets among the central stimuli. Color detection and color-orientation conjunction search tasks were used as the low- and high-load tasks, respectively. Behavioral results showed significant load effects on both accuracy and reaction time for target detections. ERP results revealed no significant load effect on the initial C1 component (60-100 ms) evoked by either central-relevant or peripheral-irrelevant stimuli. Source analysis with dipole modeling confirmed previous reports that the C1 includes the initial evoked response in primary visual cortex. Source analyses indicated that high attentional load enhanced the early (70-140 ms) neural response to central-relevant stimuli in ventral-lateral extrastriate cortex, whereas load effects on peripheral-irrelevant stimulus processing started at 110 ms and were localized to more dorsal and anterior extrastriate cortical areas. These results provide evidence that the earliest stages of visual cortical processing are not modified by attentional load and show that attentional load affects the processing of task relevant and irrelevant stimuli in different ways.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yulong Ding
- Department of PsychologySun Yat‐Sen UniversityGuangzhouChina
- Department of NeurosciencesUniversity of CaliforniaSan Diego, La JollaCalifornia
- State Key laboratory of Brain and Cognition Science, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of SciencesChina
| | - Antigona Martinez
- Department of NeurosciencesUniversity of CaliforniaSan Diego, La JollaCalifornia
- Nathan S. Kline Institute for Psychiatric ResearchOrangeburgNew York
| | - Zhe Qu
- Department of PsychologySun Yat‐Sen UniversityGuangzhouChina
| | - Steven A. Hillyard
- Department of NeurosciencesUniversity of CaliforniaSan Diego, La JollaCalifornia
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Mizuno K, Tsuji T, Rossetti Y, Pisella L, Ohde H, Liu M. Early Visual Processing is Affected by Clinical Subtype in Patients with Unilateral Spatial Neglect: A Magnetoencephalography Study. Front Hum Neurosci 2013; 7:432. [PMID: 23914171 PMCID: PMC3728490 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2013.00432] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/25/2013] [Accepted: 07/15/2013] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE To determine whether visual evoked magnetic fields (VEFs) elicited by right and left hemifield stimulation differ in patients with unilateral spatial neglect (USN) that results from cerebrovascular accident. METHODS Pattern-reversal stimulation of the right and left hemifield was performed in three patients with left USN. Magnetoencephalography (MEG) was recorded using a 160-channel system, and VEFs were quantified in the 400 ms after each stimulus. The presence or absence of VEF components at around 100 ms (P100m component) and 145 ms (N145m component) after stimulus onset was determined. The source of the VEF was determined using a single equivalent current dipole model for spherical volume conduction. All patients were evaluated using the behavioral inattention test (BIT). RESULTS In response to right hemifield stimulation, the P100m and N145m components of the VEF were evident in all three patients. In response to left hemifield stimulation, both components were evident in Patient 3, whereas only the P100m component was evident in Patient 1 and only the N145m component was evident in Patient 2. Patient 1 exhibited impairments on the line bisection and cancelation tasks of the BIT, Patient 2 exhibited impairments on the copying, drawing and cancelation tasks of the BIT, and Patient 3 exhibited impairments on the cancelation task of the BIT. CONCLUSION These results demonstrate that early VEFs are disrupted in patients with USN and support the concept that deficits in visual processing differ according to the clinical subtype of USN and the lesion location. This study also demonstrates the feasibility of using MEG to explore subtypes of neglect.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katsuhiro Mizuno
- Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Keio University School of Medicine , Tokyo , Japan ; ImpAct Team, INSERM U1028, CNRS UMR5292, Lyon Neuroscience Research Center , Bron , France ; National Sanatorium Tama Zenshoen , Tokyo , Japan
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Campana F, Tallon-Baudry C. Anchoring visual subjective experience in a neural model: the coarse vividness hypothesis. Neuropsychologia 2013; 51:1050-60. [PMID: 23499720 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2013.02.021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/16/2012] [Revised: 02/18/2013] [Accepted: 02/27/2013] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Subjective experience often accompanies perception and cognition. This elusive feeling is difficult to characterize, both theoretically and experimentally. Perceptual subjective experience is at the heart of a theoretical debate in consciousness research: does it correspond to a genuine psychological and biological process independent from cognitive abilities, or is it a cognitive illusion, a post-hoc construct, implying that perceptual consciousness can be reduced to a sum of cognitive functions? We reconsider this debate in the light of known properties of the visual system, derived from studies on visual object and scene recognition but not specifically targeting consciousness issues. We propose here that initial visual subjective experience is characterized by two key properties, coarseness and vividness: initial subjective experience is integrated, meaningful, but does not contain detailed information. Subjective experience is likely to arise first in high-level visual areas, in which information is encoded in a coarse and integrated manner. We propose that initial subjective experience is related to the concept of "vision at a glance", thought to result from a fast, implicit feed-forward sweep of activity in the visual system progressing from low-level areas to high-level areas (Hochstein and Ahissar (2002)Neuron, 36, 791-804). The details needed to overtly guide behavior would be retrieved in a secondary processing step of "vision with scrutiny", proceeding in a feed-back manner, from high-level to low-level areas. This secondary and optional descending process could thus later enrich conscious visual percepts with details. Our hypothesis provides parsimonious explanations for two intriguing findings: the double dissociation between attention and consciousness, and the mismatch between objective measures and subjective reports, that is sometimes used to argue that subjective experience is an illusion. We argue here that because visual subjective experience is initially coarse, it should not be probed by asking subjects to specify details. The coarse vividness hypothesis therefore offers a framework that accounts for the existence of an initial genuine subjective experience, defined by its coarseness and vividness, optionally followed by more refined and detailed processing that could underlie finer perceptual and cognitive abilities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Florence Campana
- Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory INSERM-ENS U960, Ecole Normale Supérieure, Paris, France
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McBride J, Zhao X, Nichols T, Vagnini V, Munro N, Berry D, Jiang Y. Scalp EEG-based discrimination of cognitive deficits after traumatic brain injury using event-related Tsallis entropy analysis. IEEE Trans Biomed Eng 2012; 60:90-6. [PMID: 23070292 DOI: 10.1109/tbme.2012.2223698] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is the leading cause of death and disability in children and adolescents in the U.S. This is a pilot study, which explores the discrimination of chronic TBI from normal controls using scalp EEG during a memory task. Tsallis entropies are computed for responses during an old-new memory recognition task. A support vector machine model is constructed to discriminate between normal and moderate/severe TBI individuals using Tsallis entropies as features. Numerical analyses of 30 records (15 normal and 15 TBI) show a maximum discrimination accuracy of 93% (p-value = 7.8557E-5) using four features. These results suggest the potential of scalp EEG as an efficacious method for noninvasive diagnosis of TBI.
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Affiliation(s)
- J McBride
- Department of Mechanical, Aerospace, and Biomedical Engineering, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA.
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Rauss K, Pourtois G, Vuilleumier P, Schwartz S. Voluntary attention reliably influences visual processing at the level of the C1 component: A commentary on Fu, Fedota, Greenwood, and Parasuram (2010). Biol Psychol 2012; 91:325-7; author reply 321-4. [DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2012.03.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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Fu S, Fedota JR, Greenwood PM, Parasuraman R. Attentional load is not a critical factor for eliciting C1 attentional effect – A reply to Rauss, Pourtois, Vuilleumier, and Schwartz. Biol Psychol 2012. [DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2012.03.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
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Acunzo DJ, Mackenzie G, van Rossum MCW. Systematic biases in early ERP and ERF components as a result of high-pass filtering. J Neurosci Methods 2012; 209:212-8. [PMID: 22743800 DOI: 10.1016/j.jneumeth.2012.06.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 107] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/22/2012] [Revised: 06/11/2012] [Accepted: 06/12/2012] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
Abstract
The event-related potential (ERP) and event-related field (ERF) techniques provide valuable insights into the time course of processes in the brain. Because neural signals are typically weak, researchers commonly filter the data to increase the signal-to-noise ratio. However, filtering may distort the data, leading to false results. Using our own EEG data, we show that acausal high-pass filtering can generate a systematic bias easily leading to misinterpretations of neural activity. In particular, we show that the early ERP component C1 is very sensitive to such effects. Moreover, we found that about half of the papers reporting modulations in the C1 range used a high-pass digital filter cut-off above the recommended maximum of 0.1 Hz. More generally, among 185 relevant ERP/ERF publications, 80 used cutoffs above 0.1 Hz. As a consequence, part of the ERP/ERF literature may need to be re-analyzed. We provide guidelines on how to minimize filtering artifacts.
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Affiliation(s)
- David J Acunzo
- Neuroinformatics Doctoral Training Centre, Institute for Adaptive and Neural Computation, School of Informatics, University of Edinburgh, UK.
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State-dependent attention modulation of human primary visual cortex: A high density ERP study. Neuroimage 2012; 60:2365-78. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2012.02.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/05/2011] [Revised: 01/27/2012] [Accepted: 02/04/2012] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
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Zani A, Proverbio AM. Is that a belt or a snake? Object attentional selection affects the early stages of visual sensory processing. Behav Brain Funct 2012; 8:6. [PMID: 22300540 PMCID: PMC3355026 DOI: 10.1186/1744-9081-8-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2011] [Accepted: 02/02/2012] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Background There is at present crescent empirical evidence deriving from different lines of ERPs research that, unlike previously observed, the earliest sensory visual response, known as C1 component or P/N80, generated within the striate cortex, might be modulated by selective attention to visual stimulus features. Up to now, evidence of this modulation has been related to space location, and simple features such as spatial frequency, luminance, and texture. Additionally, neurophysiological conditions, such as emotion, vigilance, the reflexive or voluntary nature of input attentional selection, and workload have also been related to C1 modulations, although at least the workload status has received controversial indications. No information is instead available, at present, for objects attentional selection. Methods In this study object- and space-based attention mechanisms were conjointly investigated by presenting complex, familiar shapes of artefacts and animals, intermixed with distracters, in different tasks requiring the selection of a relevant target-category within a relevant spatial location, while ignoring the other shape categories within this location, and, overall, all the categories at an irrelevant location. EEG was recorded from 30 scalp electrode sites in 21 right-handed participants. Results and Conclusions ERP findings showed that visual processing was modulated by both shape- and location-relevance per se, beginning separately at the latency of the early phase of a precocious negativity (60-80 ms) at mesial scalp sites consistent with the C1 component, and a positivity at more lateral sites. The data also showed that the attentional modulation progressed conjointly at the latency of the subsequent P1 (100-120 ms) and N1 (120-180 ms), as well as later-latency components. These findings support the views that (1) V1 may be precociously modulated by direct top-down influences, and participates to object, besides simple features, attentional selection; (2) object spatial and non-spatial features selection might begin with an early, parallel detection of a target object in the visual field, followed by the progressive focusing of spatial attention onto the location of an actual target for its identification, somehow in line with neural mechanisms reported in the literature as "object-based space selection", or with those proposed for visual search.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alberto Zani
- Electro-Functional Brain Imaging Unit-EFBIu, Institute of Molecular Bioimaging and Physiology, CNR, Milan, Italy.
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Wang Y, Fu S, Greenwood P, Luo Y, Parasuraman R. Perceptual load, voluntary attention, and aging: an event-related potential study. Int J Psychophysiol 2012; 84:17-25. [PMID: 22248536 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2012.01.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/27/2011] [Revised: 12/19/2011] [Accepted: 01/02/2012] [Indexed: 10/14/2022]
Abstract
The locus of attentional selection is known to vary with perceptual load (Lavie et al., 2004). Under voluntary attention, perceptual load modulates selective visual processing at an early cortical stage, as reflected in the posterior P1 and N1 components of the event-related potentials (ERPs). Adult aging also affects both behavioral and ERP signs of attentional selection. However, it is not known whether perceptual load modulates this relationship. Accordingly, in the present study ERPs were recorded in a voluntary attention task. Young and old participants were asked to discriminate the direction of a target line embedded within a display of four lines that appeared in the left or right visual field. Participants responded faster and more accurately to valid relative to invalid trials and to low-load relative to high-load condition. Older participants responded more slowly and with lower accuracy than young participants in all conditions. The amplitudes of the posterior contralateral P1 and N1 components in valid trials were larger than that in invalid trials in all conditions. N1 amplitude was larger under the high load condition than that in the low load condition. Moreover, in the high perceptual load condition, the old group had a larger N1 than the young group at contralateral sites. The findings suggest that under voluntary attention, perceptual load and aging modulates attentional selection at an early but not the earliest stage, during the N1 (120-200ms) time range. Increased N1 amplitude in older adults may reflect increased demands on target discrimination in high perceptual load.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yan Wang
- Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
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Di Russo F, Stella A, Spitoni G, Strappini F, Sdoia S, Galati G, Hillyard SA, Spinelli D, Pitzalis S. Spatiotemporal brain mapping of spatial attention effects on pattern-reversal ERPs. Hum Brain Mapp 2011; 33:1334-51. [PMID: 21500317 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.21285] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/30/2010] [Revised: 10/22/2010] [Accepted: 01/20/2011] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Recordings of event-related potentials (ERPs) were combined with structural and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to investigate the timing and localization of stimulus selection processes during visual-spatial attention to pattern-reversing gratings. Pattern reversals were presented in random order to the left and right visual fields at a rapid rate, while subjects attended to the reversals in one field at a time. On separate runs, stimuli were presented in the upper and lower visual quadrants. The earliest ERP component (C1, peaking at around 80 ms), which inverted in polarity for upper versus lower field stimuli and was localized in or near visual area V1, was not modulated by attention. In the latency range 80-250 ms, multiple components were elicited that were increased in amplitude by attention and were colocalized with fMRI activations in specific visual cortical areas. The principal anatomical sources of these attention-sensitive components were localized by fMRI-seeded dipole modeling as follows: P1 (ca. 100 ms-source in motion-sensitive area MT+), C2 (ca. 130 ms-same source as C1), N1a (ca. 145 ms-source in horizontal intraparietal sulcus), N1b (ca. 165 ms-source in fusiform gyrus, area V4/V8), N1c (ca. 180 ms-source in posterior intraparietal sulcus, area V3A), and P2 (ca. 220 ms-multiple sources, including parieto-occipital sulcus, area V6). These results support the hypothesis that spatial attention acts to amplify both feed-forward and feedback signals in multiple visual areas of both the dorsal and ventral streams of processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francesco Di Russo
- Department of Education Sciences for Motor Activity and Sport, University of Rome Foro Italico, Rome, Italy.
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Mickleborough MJ, Truong G, Handy TC. Top–down control of visual cortex in migraine populations. Neuropsychologia 2011; 49:1006-1015. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2011.01.033] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2010] [Revised: 01/16/2011] [Accepted: 01/17/2011] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
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Rauss K, Pourtois G, Vuilleumier P, Schwartz S. Effects of attentional load on early visual processing depend on stimulus timing. Hum Brain Mapp 2011; 33:63-74. [PMID: 21438076 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.21193] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/20/2010] [Revised: 08/31/2010] [Accepted: 09/27/2010] [Indexed: 11/11/2022] Open
Abstract
A growing number of studies suggest that early visual processing is not only affected by low-level perceptual attributes but also by higher order cognitive factors such as attention or emotion. Using high-density electroencephalography, we recently demonstrated that attentional load of a task at fixation reduces the response of primary visual cortex to irrelevant peripheral stimuli, as indexed by the C1 component. In the latter study, peripheral stimuli were always presented during intervals without task-relevant stimuli. Here, we use a similar paradigm but present central task stimuli and irrelevant peripheral stimuli simultaneously while keeping all other stimulus characteristics constant. Results show that rather than to suppress responses to peripheral stimulation, high attentional load elicits higher C1 amplitudes under these conditions. These findings suggest that stimulus timing can profoundly alter the effects of attentional load on the earliest stages of processing in human visual cortex.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karsten Rauss
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland.
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Top-down effects on early visual processing in humans: a predictive coding framework. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2010; 35:1237-53. [PMID: 21185860 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2010.12.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 136] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/21/2010] [Revised: 12/15/2010] [Accepted: 12/16/2010] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
An increasing number of human electroencephalography (EEG) studies examining the earliest component of the visual evoked potential, the so-called C1, have cast doubts on the previously prevalent notion that this component is impermeable to top-down effects. This article reviews the original studies that (i) described the C1, (ii) linked it to primary visual cortex (V1) activity, and (iii) suggested that its electrophysiological characteristics are exclusively determined by low-level stimulus attributes, particularly the spatial position of the stimulus within the visual field. We then describe conflicting evidence from animal studies and human neuroimaging experiments and provide an overview of recent EEG and magnetoencephalography (MEG) work showing that initial V1 activity in humans may be strongly modulated by higher-level cognitive factors. Finally, we formulate a theoretical framework for understanding top-down effects on early visual processing in terms of predictive coding.
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Couperus J. Perceptual load modifies processing of unattended stimuli both in the presence and absence of attended stimuli. Neurosci Lett 2010; 485:246-50. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neulet.2010.09.023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2010] [Revised: 09/02/2010] [Accepted: 09/08/2010] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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O'Connell RG, Schneider D, Hester R, Mattingley JB, Bellgrove MA. Attentional Load Asymmetrically Affects Early Electrophysiological Indices of Visual Orienting. Cereb Cortex 2010; 21:1056-65. [DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhq178] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
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Fu S, Fedota JR, Greenwood PM, Parasuraman R. Dissociation of visual C1 and P1 components as a function of attentional load: an event-related potential study. Biol Psychol 2010; 85:171-8. [PMID: 20599467 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2010.06.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 58] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/07/2009] [Revised: 06/14/2010] [Accepted: 06/25/2010] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
The earliest cortical location at which attention influences visual processing is controversial. To address this issue, the C1 and P1 components of cue-elicited ERPs were examined in a spatially-cued task under high and low levels of attentional load (active vs. passive viewing). Cues were presented either to the left or to the right visual field in separate trials (unilateral presentation), or to both visual fields simultaneously (bilateral presentation). For the unilateral presentation, C1 (peak latency approximately 80 ms) was not modulated by attentional load, whereas P1 (peak latency approximately 120-140 ms) was larger for high-relative to low-load condition. Bilateral presentation of the stimuli enhanced the amplitude of the C1 component relative to unilateral presentation; however, the increase of signal/noise ratio of C1 revealed no attentional load effect on C1. Results show that attentional load modulates visual processing in the P1, but not in the C1 time range, regardless of the increased signal/noise ratio by bilateral presentation. While it remains unclear about the conditions under which a C1 attentional effect is reliably elicited, the present results suggest that the direct manipulation of attentional load under a voluntary attention task seems not crucial for eliciting C1 attentional effect.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shimin Fu
- Department of Psychology, Tsinghua University, Haidan, Beijing, China.
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Abstract
Attending to a specific spatial location modulates responsivity of neurons with receptive fields processing that part of the environment. A major outstanding question is whether attentional modulation operates differently for the foveal (central) representation of the visual field than it does for the periphery. Indeed, recent animal electrophysiological recordings suggest that attention differentially affects spatial integration for central and peripheral receptive fields in primary visual cortex. In human electroencephalographic recordings, spatial attention to peripheral locations robustly modulates activity in early visual regions, but it has been claimed that this mechanism does not operate in foveal vision. Here, however, we show clear early attentional modulation of foveal stimulation with the same timing and cortical sources as seen for peripheral stimuli, demonstrating that attentional gain control operates similarly across the entire field of view. These results imply that covertly attending away from the center of gaze, which is a common paradigm in behavioral and electrophysiological studies of attention, results in a precisely timed push-pull mechanism. While the amplitude of the initial response to stimulation at attended peripheral locations is significantly increased beginning at 80 ms, the amplitude of the response to foveal stimulation begins to be attenuated.
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Fu S, Fedota J, Greenwood PM, Parasuraman R. Early interaction between perceptual load and involuntary attention: An event-related potential study. Neurosci Lett 2009; 468:68-71. [PMID: 19874869 DOI: 10.1016/j.neulet.2009.10.065] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/09/2009] [Revised: 09/21/2009] [Accepted: 10/21/2009] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
Whether selective attention affects C1, the first (earliest) visual cortical component of the event-related potential (ERP), remains controversial. We used a cued, involuntary attention task requiring discrimination of targets under low and high levels of perceptual load to examine early attentional modulation in visual cortex. Potential confounds due to physical stimulus differences between load conditions and cue-target sensory interaction were minimized. An interaction between perceptual load and involuntary attention was observed for the P1m component (peak latency between 100 and 140 ms). Furthermore, the parieto-central C1 component (peak latency 80 ms) was modulated by attention, but only under the high-load condition. Thus, whereas attention typically modulates the later P1 component, attentional modulation of C1 is possible under optimal conditions. Specifically, a high perceptual load is necessary for eliciting this earliest attentional effect on cortical processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shimin Fu
- ARCH Laboratory, Department of Psychology, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA 22030-4444, USA.
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