Activity in Human Visual and Parietal Cortex Reveals Object-Based Attention in Working Memory
Activity in Human Visual and Parietal Cortex Reveals Object-Based Attention in Working Memory
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DOI：
10.1523/jneurosci.3795-14.2015
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发表时间：
2015-02
期刊：
影响因子：
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通讯作者：
B. Peters;J. Kaiser;B. Rahm;C. Bledowski
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
B. Peters;J. Kaiser;B. Rahm;C. Bledowski
视觉注意力使观察者能够根据空间位置、特征或物体选择行为相关的信息。注意选择不仅限于物理上存在的视觉信息，还可以对工作记忆（WM）中维护的内部表征进行操作，以服务于高阶认知。然而，对于 WM 内容的关注是否遵循与感官刺激的关注相同的原则，人们知之甚少。为了解决这个问题，我们在人类中研究了基于对象的注意在感知中通常观察到的效果对于 WM 中内部对象表示的基于对象的注意选择是否也很明显。与视觉感知的影响完全一致，在 WM 中观察到了基于对象的注意的关键行为和神经元特征。具体来说，我们发现，与不同物体上的等距位置相比，将注意力转移到当前关注物体上的记忆位置时，反应时间更短。此外，功能性磁共振成像和视觉（V1-V4区）和顶叶皮层视觉活动的多变量模式分析表明，将注意力集中到WM中物体的一个位置也增强了大脑对同一物体其他位置的激活，这表明WM中的注意力选择激活了整个物体。这项研究表明，基于对象的注意力的所有特征都存在于 WM 中，因此遵循与感知相同的原理。
Visual attention enables observers to select behaviorally relevant information based on spatial locations, features, or objects. Attentional selection is not limited to physically present visual information, but can also operate on internal representations maintained in working memory (WM) in service of higher-order cognition. However, only little is known about whether attention to WM contents follows the same principles as attention to sensory stimuli. To address this question, we investigated in humans whether the typically observed effects of object-based attention in perception are also evident for object-based attentional selection of internal object representations in WM. In full accordance with effects in visual perception, the key behavioral and neuronal characteristics of object-based attention were observed in WM. Specifically, we found that reaction times were shorter when shifting attention to memory positions located on the currently attended object compared with equidistant positions on a different object. Furthermore, functional magnetic resonance imaging and multivariate pattern analysis of visuotopic activity in visual (areas V1–V4) and parietal cortex revealed that directing attention to one position of an object held in WM also enhanced brain activation for other positions on the same object, suggesting that attentional selection in WM activates the entire object. This study demonstrated that all characteristic features of object-based attention are present in WM and thus follows the same principles as in perception.