SPATIAL ATTENTION EFFECTS IN THE HUMAN VISUAL CORTEX

人类视觉皮层的空间注意力效应

• 批准号: 6384860
• 负责人: GEOFFREY M BOYNTON
• 金额: $ 42.05万
• 依托单位: SALK INSTITUTE FOR BIOLOGICAL STUDIES
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 财政年份: 1999
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 1999-08-16 至 2004-07-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/6384860
• 关键词: attention; behavioral /social science research tag; functional magnetic resonance imaging; human subject; lateral geniculate body; mathematical model; neural information processing; neurons; performance; psychophysics; space perception; visual cortex; visual fields; visual pathways; visual perception; visual stimulus

DESCRIPTION (Adapted From The Applicant's Abstract): Behavioral performance in many perceptual tasks is enhanced when a cue directs the subject's spatial attention to the relevant location in the visual field. The neuronal basis of this improvement in performance has been studied in the macaque monkey, where the activity of neurons in several visual areas has been shown to increase when a task directs attention to stimuli within a neuron's receptive field. We recently found, using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), that spatial attention also modulates neuronal activity in the earliest levels of visual processing of the human brain. Our long-term objective is to obtain a detailed understanding of where and how spatial attention modulates neuronal responses in the human visual cortex (and the lateral geniculate nucleus), and to examine how these attentional modulations of neuronal response improve behavioral performance. We will address four questions: (1) What visual areas in the human visual system are affected by spatial attention? (2) How does attending to different features of a stimulus (e.g. speed, color, and shape) influence responses in the human brain? (3) Does spatial attention modulate the baseline responses of neurons, or does it affect the stimulus-driven response? (4) Can the modulation of neuronal responses by spatial attention in early visual areas predict changes in behavioral performance of an observer? We will address these questions using a combination of new quantitative fMRI techniques, visual psychophysics, and computational modeling. Behavioral deficits in the ability to allocate spatial attention have been found in certain clinical subpopulations including people with developmental dyslexia and attentional deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Our proposed studies will therefore provide insight into the neurological basis of these disorders.

描述（改编自申请人的摘要）：行为表现 当线索引导受试者的空间时，许多感知任务都会得到增强 注意视野中的相关位置。神经元基础 这种性能的提高已经在猕猴身上进行了研究，其中 多个视觉区域的神经元活动已被证明在以下情况下会增加： 任务将注意力集中在神经元感受野内的刺激上。我们 最近发现，使用功能磁共振成像（fMRI）， 空间注意力也调节最早水平的神经元活动 人脑的视觉处理。我们的长期目标是获得 详细了解空间注意力在何处以及如何调节神经元 人类视觉皮层（和外侧膝状核）的反应，以及 检查这些神经元反应的注意力调节如何改善 行为表现。我们将解决四个问题：（1）什么视觉区域 人类视觉系统中是否受到空间注意力的影响？ (2) 如何 关注刺激的不同特征（例如速度、颜色和形状） 影响人脑的反应？ (3) 空间注意力是否调节 神经元的基线反应，还是影响刺激驱动的反应？ (4)早期空间注意力能否调节神经元反应 视觉区域预测观察者行为表现的变化？我们将 结合新的定量功能磁共振成像来解决这些问题 技术、视觉心理物理学和计算建模。行为方面 人们发现分配空间注意力的能力存在缺陷 某些临床亚群，包括患有发育性阅读障碍的人 和注意力缺陷多动障碍（ADHD）。我们提出的研究 因此，将深入了解这些疾病的神经学基础。