Work

Functional and structural architecture of the human dorsal frontoparietal attention network

Year: 2013

Type: article

Abstract: The dorsal frontoparietal attention network has been subdivided into at least eight areas in humans. However, the circuitry linking these areas and the functions of different circuit paths remain unclear. Using a combination of neuroimaging techniques to map spatial representations in frontoparietal areas, their functional interactions, and structural connections, we demonstrate different pathways across human dorsal frontoparietal cortex for the control of spatial attention. Our results are consistent with these pathways computing object-centered and/or viewer-centered representations of attentional priorities depending on task requirements. Our findings provide an organizing principle for the frontoparietal attention network, where distinct pathways between frontal and parietal regions contribute to multiple spatial representations, enabling flexible selection of behaviorally relevant information.

Source: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1313903110

Authors: Sara M. Szczepanski, Mark A. Pinsk, Malia M. Douglas, Sabine Kastner, Yuri B. Saalmann

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, National Institute of Mental Health, National Eye Institute

Awards: G1550257587, Neural mechanisms of attention, Attentional Functions of the Pulvinar, Functions of the thalamus in attention and perception