Work

Control of eye movements and spatial attention

Year: 2001

Type: article

Abstract: Several lines of evidence suggest that planning eye movements and directing visuospatial attention share overlapping brain mechanisms. This study tested whether spatial attention can be enhanced by altering oculomotor signals within the brain. Monkeys performed a spatial attention task while neurons within the frontal eye field, an oculomotor area within prefrontal cortex, were electrically stimulated below the level at which eye movements are evoked. We found that we could improve the monkey's performance with microstimulation when, but only when, the object to be attended was positioned in the space represented by the cortical stimulation site.

Source: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

DOI: 10.1073/pnas.98.3.1273

Authors: Tirin Moore, Mazyar Fallah

Institution: Princeton University

Language: English

Topic: Visual perception and processing mechanisms

Subfield: Cognitive Neuroscience

Field: Neuroscience

Domain: Life Sciences

Open Access status: bronze

Funders: National Institutes of Health, U.S. Public Health Service, National Institute of Mental Health, National Eye Institute

Awards: G4550507961, OCULOMOTOR MECHANISMS AND SPATIAL ATTENTION