Understanding visual attention with RAGNAROC: A reflexive attention gradient through neural AttRactOr competition.

Brad Wyble; Chloe Callahan-Flintoft; Hui Chen; Toma Marinov; Aakash Sarkar; Howard Bowman

doi:10.1037/rev0000245

Understanding visual attention with RAGNAROC: A Reflexive Attention Gradient through Neural AttRactOr Competition

10.1101/406124 ◽

2018 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Brad Wyble ◽

Chloe Callahan-Flintoft ◽

Hui Chen ◽

Toma Marinov ◽

Aakash Sarkar ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Visual Attention ◽

Relevant Information ◽

Neural Correlates ◽

Neural Mechanisms ◽

Covert Attention ◽

Lower Priority ◽

Reflexive Attention ◽

Visual Hierarchy ◽

New Information ◽

Suppression Effects

AbstractA quintessential challenge for any perceptual system is the need to focus on task-relevant information without being blindsided by unexpected, yet important information. The human visual system incorporates several solutions to this challenge, one of which is a reflexive covert attention system that is rapidly responsive to both the physical salience and the task-relevance of new information. This paper presents a model that simulates behavioral and neural correlates of reflexive attention as the product of brief neural attractor states that are formed across the visual hierarchy when attention is engaged. Such attractors emerge from an attentional gradient distributed over a population of topographically organized neurons and serve to focus processing at one or more locations in the visual field, while inhibiting the processing of lower priority information. The model moves towards a resolution of key debates about the nature of reflexive attention, such as whether it is parallel or serial, and whether suppression effects are distributed in a spatial surround, or selectively at the location of distractors. Most importantly, the model develops a framework for understanding the neural mechanisms of visual attention as a spatiotopic decision process within a hierarchy and links them to observable correlates such as accuracy, reaction time, and the N2pc and PD components of the EEG. This last contribution is the most crucial for repairing the disconnect that exists between our understanding of behavioral and neural correlates of attention.

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Temporal Allocation of Visual Attention in Adult Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.

Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience ◽

10.1162/08989290151137359 ◽

2001 ◽

Vol 13 (3) ◽

pp. 298-305 ◽

Cited By ~ 33

Author(s):

Deidre E. Hollingsworth ◽

Sean P. McAuliffe ◽

Barbara J. Knowlton

Keyword(s):

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder ◽

Visual Attention ◽

Rapid Serial Visual Presentation ◽

Attention Deficit ◽

Visual Presentation ◽

Adhd Group ◽

Reflexive Attention ◽

Hyperactivity Disorder ◽

Controlled Attention ◽

Close Temporal Proximity

In two experiments, we examined the ability of adults with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) to preocess multiple targets appearing in a rapid serial visual presentation (RSVP) stream. Using a standard attentional blink (AB) task, subjects were required to both identify a target in the RSVP stream and detect a probe appearing in one of several posttarget serial positions. In Experiment 1, ADHD adults exhibited a protracted AB compared to controls, in that their probe detection did not improve as a function of increasing probe-to-target intervals (450-720 msec). In Experiment 2, the ADHD group performed as well as controls in detectin probes appearing immediately (i.e., 90 msec) after the target. Taken together, the results demonstrate that adults with ADHD exhibit a selective deficit in rapidly shifting attention between the target and the probe, when two appear several hundred milliseconds apart. These results suggest that adults with ADHD can use automatic (reflexive) attention to detect items in close temporal proximity in the RSVP stream, but have difficulty allocating controlled attention to multiple stimuli separated by several hundred milliseconds.

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Visual Spatial Attention in Migraine Sufferers in Postictal and Interictal Phases: An Event-Related Potential Study

Journal of Psychophysiology ◽

10.1027//0269-8803.15.1.22 ◽

2001 ◽

Vol 15 (1) ◽

pp. 22-34 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

D.H. de Koning ◽

J.C. Woestenburg ◽

M. Elton

Keyword(s):

Cerebral Cortex ◽

Visual Attention ◽

Migraine Attack ◽

Spatial Attention ◽

Event Related Potential ◽

Significant Enhancement ◽

Pathophysiological Mechanism ◽

Attention Task ◽

Visual Spatial Attention ◽

Visual Spatial

Migraineurs with and without aura (MWAs and MWOAs) as well as controls were measured twice with an interval of 7 days. The first session of recordings and tests for migraineurs was held about 7 hours after a migraine attack. We hypothesized that electrophysiological changes in the posterior cerebral cortex related to visual spatial attention are influenced by the level of arousal in migraineurs with aura, and that this varies over the course of time. ERPs related to the active visual attention task manifested significant differences between controls and both types of migraine sufferers for the N200, suggesting a common pathophysiological mechanism for migraineurs. Furthermore, migraineurs without aura (MWOAs) showed a significant enhancement for the N200 at the second session, indicating the relevance of time of measurement within migraine studies. Finally, migraineurs with aura (MWAs) showed significantly enhanced P240 and P300 components at central and parietal cortical sites compared to MWOAs and controls, which seemed to be maintained over both sessions and could be indicative of increased noradrenergic activity in MWAs.

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