Year: 2006
Type: dissertation
Abstract: The neural mechanisms underlying voluntary shifts of spatial attention were investigated by examining the event-related potentials (ERPs) to attention-directing cues and associated changes in alpha-band (8-14 Hz) electroencephalographic (EEG) activity.lntramodal auditory and visual shifts of attention were examined in Experiments 1 and 2, and crossmodal shifts of attention were examined in Experiments 3 and 4. Different patterns of ERP and alpha-band activities were observed across the four experiments.Frontal ERP activity (ADAN) was elicited by visual cues but not by auditory cues, which disconfirms previous claims that that this frontal activity reflects supramodal attentional control processes.Posterior ERP activity (LDAP) and associated changes in alpha-band EEG oscillations were observed in all experiments, but the scalp topographies of these activities depended on the modality of the task-relevant target.Such topographic differences suggest that the posterior ERP and alpha-band activities reflect attentional preparation in sensory-specific regions of cortex.
Source: Summit (Simon Fraser University)
Author: Jessica J. Green
Language: English
Subfield: Experimental and Cognitive Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W24689009