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Selective attention in the primate visual system.
Authors:
Duncan, J.
Reference:
Canadian Psychology, 35, 104-105.
Year of publication:
1994
CBU number:
3138
Abstract:
This is a published abstract describing a series of single unit, PET and behavioural studies addressing the functions and neurophysiology of visual attention. Beyond striate cortex, visual information is processed in a network of separate cortical areas, specialized in part for analysis of different visual attributes. Issues arising in such a modular system include the nature of the attentional state in extrastriate cortex, its flexible control by the requirements of current behaviour, and the coordination between areas implied by attention to whole objects. The evidence suggests that attention is directed to behaviourally relevant objects by advance priming of corresponding neural populations. Attention is manifested as a sustained state of the visuomotor network, during which the distributed representation of an object with its multiple visual attributes becomes available for control of behaviour.
