Object-based selection of irrelevant features is not confined to the attended object

Attention to one feature of an object can bias the processing of unattended features of that object. Here we demonstrate with ERPs in visual search that this object-based bias for an irrelevant feature also appears in an unattended object when it shares that feature with the target object. Specifically, we show that the ERP response elicited by a distractor object in one visual field is modulated as a function of whether a task-irrelevant color of that distractor is also present in the target object that is presented in the opposite visual field. Importantly, we find this modulation to arise with a delay of approximately 80 msec relative to the N2pc-a component of the ERP response that reflects the focusing of attention onto the target. In a second experiment, we demonstrate that this modulation reflects enhanced neural processing in the unattended object. These observations together facilitate the surprising conclusion that the object-based selection of irrelevant features is spatially global even after attention has selected the target object

Separable mechanisms underlying global feature-based attention

Feature-based attention is known to operate in a spatially global manner, in that the selection of attended features is not bound to the spatial focus of attention. Here we used electromagnetic recordings in human observers to characterize the spatiotemporal signature of such global selection of an orientation feature. Observers performed a simple orientation-discrimination task while ignoring task-irrelevant orientation probes outside the focus of attention. We observed that global feature-based selection, indexed by the brain response to unattended orientation probes, is composed of separable functional components. One such component reflects global selection based on the similarity of the probe with task-relevant orientation values ("template matching"), which is followed by a component reflecting selection based on the similarity of the probe with the orientation value under discrimination in the focus of attention ("discrimination matching"). Importantly, template matching occurs at similar to 150 ms after stimulus onset, similar to 80 ms before the onset of discrimination matching. Moreover, source activity underlying template matching and discrimination matching was found to originate from ventral extrastriate cortex, with the former being generated in more anterolateral and the latter in more posteromedial parts, suggesting template matching to occur in visual cortex higher up in the visual processing hierarchy than discrimination matching. We take these observations to indicate that the population-level signature of global feature-based selection reflects a sequence of hierarchically ordered operations in extrastriate visual cortex, in which the selection based on task relevance has temporal priority over the selection based on the sensory similarity between input representations

Task-load-dependent activation of dopaminergic midbrain areas in the absence of reward

Dopamine release in cortical and subcortical structures plays a central role in reward-related neural processes. Within this context, dopaminergic inputs are commonly assumed to play an activating role, facilitating behavioral and cognitive operations necessary to obtain a prospective reward. Here, we provide evidence from human fMRI that this activating role can also be mediated by task-demand-related processes and thus extendsbeyondsituationsthatonlyentailextrinsicmotivatingfactors. Using a visual discrimination task in which varying levels of task demands were precued, we found enhanced hemodynamic activity in the substantia nigra (SN) for high task demands in the absence of reward or similar extrinsic motivating factors. This observation thus indicates that the SN can also be activated in an endogenous fashion. In parallel to its role in reward-related processes, reward-independent activation likely serves to recruit the processing resources needed to meet enhanced task demands. Simultaneously, activity in a wide network of cortical and subcortical control regions was enhanced in response to high task demands, whereas areas of the default-mode network were deactivated more strongly. The present observations suggest that the SN represents a core node within a broader neural network that adjusts the amount of available neural and behavioral resources to changing situational opportunities and task requirements, which is often driven by extrinsic factors but can also be controlled endogenously

Neural mechanisms of surround attenuation and distractor competition in visual search

Visual attention biases relevant processing in the visual system by amplifying relevant or attenuating irrelevant sensory input. A potential signature of the latter operation, referred to as surround attenuation, has recently been identified in the electromagnetic brain response of human observers performing visual search. It was found that a zone of attenuated cortical excitability surrounds the target when the search required increased spatial resolution for item discrimination. Here we address the obvious hypothesis that surround attenuation serves distractor suppression in the vicinity of the target where interference from irrelevant search items is maximal. To test this hypothesis, surround attenuation was assessed under conditions when the target was presented in isolation versus when it was surrounded by distractors. Surprisingly, substantial and indistinguishable surround attenuation was seen under both conditions, indicating that it reflects an attentional operation independent of the presence of distractors. Adding distractors in the target's surround, however, increased the amplitude of the N2pc-an evoked response known to index distractor competition in visual search. Moreover, adding distractors led to a topographical change of source activity underlying the N2pc toward earlier extrastriate areas. In contrast, the topography of reduced source activity due to surround attenuation remained unaltered with and without distractors in the target's surround. We conclude that surround attenuation is not a direct consequence of the attenuation of distractors in visual search and that it dissociates from attentional operations reflected by the N2pc. A theoretical framework is proposed that links both operations in a common model of top-down attentional selection in visual cortex

Substantia nigra activity level predicts trial-to-trial adjustments in cognitive control

Effective adaptation to the demands of a changing environment requires flexible cognitive control. The medial and the lateral frontal cortices are involved in such control processes, putatively in close interplay with the BG. In particular, dopaminergic projections from the midbrain (i.e., from the substantia nigra [SN] and the ventral tegmental area) have been proposed to play a pivotal role in modulating the activity in these areas for cognitive control purposes. In that dopaminergic involvement has been strongly implicated in reinforcement learning, these ideas suggest functional links between reinforcement learning, where the outcome of actions shapes behavior over time, and cognitive control in a more general context, where no direct reward is involved. Here, we provide evidence from functional MRI in humans that activity in the SN predicts systematic subsequent trial-to-trial RT prolongations that are thought to reflect cognitive control in a stop-signal paradigm. In particular, variations in the activity level of the SN in one trial predicted the degree of RT prolongation on the subsequent trial, consistent with a modulating output signal from the SN being involved in enhancing cognitive control. This link between SN activity and subsequent behavioral adjustments lends support to theoretical accounts that propose dopaminergic control signals that shape behavior both in the presence and in the absence of direct reward. This SN-based modulatory mechanism is presumably mediated via a wider network that determines response speed in this task, including frontal and parietal control regions, along with the BG and the associated subthalamic nucleus

Mandatory processing of irrelevant fearful face features in visual search

Faces expressing fear may attract attention in an automatic bottom-up fashion. Here we address this issue with magneto-encephalographic (MEG) recordings in subjects performing a demanding visual search combined with the presentation of irrelevant neutral or fearful faces. The impact of the faces 'emotional expression on attentional selection was assessed by analyzing the N2pc component-a modulation of the event-related magnetic field response known to reflect attentional focusing in visual search. We observed that lateralized fearful faces elicited an N2pc approximately between 240 and 400 msec in ventral extrastriate cortex that was independent of the N2pc reflecting target selection in visual search. Despite their clear influence on neural processing, fearful faces did not significantly influence behavioral performance. To clarify this discrepancy, we further performed an MEG experiment in which the demands of the search task were reduced. Under those conditions, lateralized fearful faces elicited an N2pc response that was again independent of the N2pc response to the search target. Behavioral performance was, however, influenced in a significant manner, suggesting that for behavioral effects to appear, sufficient attentional resources need to be left unoccupied by the search task-a notion put forward by the perceptual load theory. Our observations are taken to indicate that irrelevant fearful faces influence attentional processing in extrastriate visual cortex in an automatic fashion and independent of other task-relevant attentional operations. However, this may not necessarily be echoed at the behavioral level as long as task-relevant selection operations exhaust attentional resources

High-Field fMRI Reveals Brain Activation Patterns Underlying Saccade Execution in the Human Superior Colliculus

BACKGROUND: The superior colliculus (SC) has been shown to play a crucial role in the initiation and coordination of eye- and head-movements. The knowledge about the function of this structure is mainly based on single-unit recordings in animals with relatively few neuroimaging studies investigating eye-movement related brain activity in humans. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: The present study employed high-field (7 Tesla) functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to investigate SC responses during endogenously cued saccades in humans. In response to centrally presented instructional cues, subjects either performed saccades away from (centrifugal) or towards (centripetal) the center of straight gaze or maintained fixation at the center position. Compared to central fixation, the execution of saccades elicited hemodynamic activity within a network of cortical and subcortical areas that included the SC, lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN), occipital cortex, striatum, and the pulvinar. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Activity in the SC was enhanced contralateral to the direction of the saccade (i.e., greater activity in the right as compared to left SC during leftward saccades and vice versa) during both centrifugal and centripetal saccades, thereby demonstrating that the contralateral predominance for saccade execution that has been shown to exist in animals is also present in the human SC. In addition, centrifugal saccades elicited greater activity in the SC than did centripetal saccades, while also being accompanied by an enhanced deactivation within the prefrontal default-mode network. This pattern of brain activity might reflect the reduced processing effort required to move the eyes toward as compared to away from the center of straight gaze, a position that might serve as a spatial baseline in which the retinotopic and craniotopic reference frames are aligned