The experiments proposed here are aimed at defining the neural substrates and functional properties of attentional selection mechanisms in the sensory pathways of the human brain. A major emphasis will be on identifying the levels of cortical processing at which relevant visual stimuli are preferentially selected from the environment. The principal method to be used will be multichannel recordings of event-related brain potentials (ERPs), combined in some experiments with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and magneto encephalography (MEG) in order to improve anatomical specificity. Neural activity modulated by attention will be localized with respect to the retinotopic visual areas V1, V2, V3/VP, V3A, and V4 and to more anterior visual areas of the dorsal and ventral processing streams. Eight experiments are proposed that will investigate basic mechanisms of visual attention in tasks where stimuli are selected on the basis of location (spatial attention), ensembles of features (object-based attention), and cues in other modalities (cross-modal attention). These experiments aim to clarify a number of outstanding issues in attention research: (1) the role of primary visual cortex in spatial and object-based attention, (2) the possible role of EEG phase-locking in visual attention, (3) the neural mechanisms that enable the splitting of the """"""""spotlight"""""""" of spatial attention, (4) the neural substrates of feature selection and integration during object-based attention, (5) the neural basis of attention-induced binocular rivalry, and (6) the neural interactions that underlie the cross-modal facilitation of perceptual processing. The long-range goal of this research is to improve mental health, particularly disturbances of selective attention that are characteristic of several clinical disorders such as schizophrenia, autism, and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. The studies proposed here will lead to an improved understanding of the basic mechanisms of both normal and disordered attention.
| Pitts, Michael A; Padwal, Jennifer; Fennelly, Daniel et al. (2014) Gamma band activity and the P3 reflect post-perceptual processes, not visual awareness. Neuroimage 101:337-50 |
| Pitts, Michael A; Martínez, Antígona; Hillyard, Steven A (2012) Visual processing of contour patterns under conditions of inattentional blindness. J Cogn Neurosci 24:287-303 |
| Britz, Juliane; Pitts, Michael A; Michel, Christoph M (2011) Right parietal brain activity precedes perceptual alternation during binocular rivalry. Hum Brain Mapp 32:1432-42 |
| Pitts, Michael A; Martinez, Antigona; Brewer, James B et al. (2011) Early stages of figure-ground segregation during perception of the face-vase. J Cogn Neurosci 23:880-95 |
| Mishra, Jyoti; Zinni, Marla; Bavelier, Daphne et al. (2011) Neural basis of superior performance of action videogame players in an attention-demanding task. J Neurosci 31:992-8 |
| Britz, Juliane; Pitts, Michael A (2011) Perceptual reversals during binocular rivalry: ERP components and their concomitant source differences. Psychophysiology 48:1490-1499 |
| Pitts, Michael A; Martínez, Antígona; Hillyard, Steven A (2010) When and where is binocular rivalry resolved in the visual cortex? J Vis 10: |
| Pitts, Michael A; Martínez, Antígona; Stalmaster, Clea et al. (2009) Neural generators of ERPs linked with Necker cube reversals. Psychophysiology 46:694-702 |
| Mishra, Jyoti; Hillyard, Steven A (2009) Endogenous attention selection during binocular rivalry at early stages of visual processing. Vision Res 49:1073-80 |
| Stormer, Viola S; McDonald, John J; Hillyard, Steven A (2009) Cross-modal cueing of attention alters appearance and early cortical processing of visual stimuli. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 106:22456-61 |
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