SPATIAL ATTENTION EFFECTS IN THE HUMAN VISUAL CORTEX

描述（改编自申请人的摘要）： 当线索引导受试者的空间认知时， 注意视野中的相关位置。的神经基础 这种性能的改善已经在猕猴中进行了研究， 已经显示，当在视觉区域中的神经元的活动增加时， 任务将注意力引导到神经元感受野内的刺激。我们 最近发现，使用功能性磁共振成像（fMRI）， 空间注意也调节神经元活动的最早水平， 人类大脑的视觉处理我们的长远目标是 详细了解空间注意力在哪里以及如何调节神经元 人类视觉皮层（和外侧膝状体核）的反应，以及 来研究这些神经元反应的注意力调节是如何改善 行为表现我们将讨论四个问题：（1）哪些视觉区域 在人类视觉系统中受到空间注意力的影响？(2)如何 注意刺激的不同特征（例如速度、颜色和形状） 影响人类大脑的反应(3)空间注意是否调节 神经元的基线反应，还是它影响刺激驱动的反应？ (4)空间注意对神经元反应的调制是否可以在早期 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技术， 技术，视觉心理物理学和计算建模。行为 在分配空间注意力的能力方面存在缺陷， 某些临床亚群，包括发育性阅读障碍患者 注意力缺陷多动障碍（ADHD）。我们建议的研究 因此，将提供深入了解这些疾病的神经基础。

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.