A physiological correlate of the "Zoom Lens" of visual attention.

Full Abstract

Attending a certain region in space enhances activity in visual areas retinotopically mapped to this region; stimuli presented in this region are preferentially processed. The zoom lens model of visual attention proposes that the attended region can be adjusted in size and predicts a tradeoff between its size and processing efficiency because of limited processing capacities. By means of event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging, we analyzed neural activity in multiple visual areas as a function of the size of an attended visual field region, which was defined by a spatial cue stimulus. After cueing, a target object, defined by a specific feature conjunction, had to be identified among objects within the cued region. Neural activity preceding the objects in multiple retinotopic visual areas correlated with the size of the attended region, as did subjects' performance. While the extent of activated retinotopic visual cortex increased with the size of the attended region, the level of neural activity in a given subregion decreased. These findings are consistent with the physiological predictions of the zoom lens model. Size-related modulations of neural activity were pronounced in early visual areas. We relate this finding to the small receptive field of these areas, whereby only neuronal units with receptive fields covering the attended region received a top-down bias. This preactivation of neuronal units may then have gated selective processing of the features of the object that appeared at the attended location, thus enabling feature integration and object identification.

Learn Faster Today Improve your study skills

Author information

Author/s: Müller, Notger G (NG); Bartelt, Oliver A (OA); Donner, Tobias H (TH); Villringer, Arno (A); Brandt, Stephan A (SA);

Affiliation: Cognitive Neurology, Johann Wolfgang Goethe University, 60528 Frankfurt, Germany. n.mueller(-atsign-)em.uni-frankfurt.de

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Clinical Trial; Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Journal: The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience (J Neurosci), published in United States. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2003-May; vol 23 (issue 9) : pp 3561-5

Dates: Created 2003/05/08; Completed 2003/06/19; Revised 2006/11/15;

PMID: 12736325, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 12/26/2008)

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

External Links for this article (including full text providers, if available):

Click Electronic Full-text Provider Links to see options for finding the electronic full text links to this article. Note there may be a subscription or fee required for access to the full text. See our FAQ for information on finding FREE full text articles.

This article may also be located in paper journal collections available in many libraries. Use the Journal and Publication Information above to find the full article.

MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

Adult
Attention - physiology
Behavior - physiology
Brain Mapping
Color Perception - physiology
Cues
Female
Fixation, Ocular - physiology
Form Perception - physiology

Humans
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Male
Neurons - physiology
Reaction Time - physiology
Space Perception - physiology
Visual Cortex - physiology
Visual Fields - physiology
Visual Perception - physiology

These are the highest related articles currently in the database:

See 100+ related articles.