Cited by 1,622Visual perception and processing mechanismsVisual Attention and Saliency DetectionNeural and Behavioral Psychology Studies

Increased Activity in Human Visual Cortex during Directed Attention in the Absence of Visual Stimulation

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Kastner, Sabine, Pinsk, Mark A., De Weerd, Peter, Desimone, Robert, Ungerleider, Leslie G.·1999·Neuron

Abstract

When subjects direct attention to a particular location in a visual scene, responses in the visual cortex to stimuli presented at that location are enhanced, and the suppressive influences of nearby distractors are reduced. What is the top-down signal that modulates the response to an attended versus an unattended stimulus? Here, we demonstrate increased activity related to attention in the absence of visual stimulation in extrastriate cortex when subjects covertly directed attention to a peripheral location expecting the onset of visual stimuli. Frontal and parietal areas showed a stronger signal increase during this expectation than did visual areas. The increased activity in visual cortex in the absence of visual stimulation may reflect a top-down bias of neural signals in favor of the attended location, which derives from a fronto-parietal network.

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Crossref · 10.1016/s0896-6273(00)80734-5

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  • Neuroimaging studies have identified a common fronto-parietal attention/control network.

    “Neuroimaging studies using a variety of attention tasks14 have identified a common network, often referred to as the fronto-parietal attention/control network72–74.”

    From Paying attention to attention in depression (2019) · cites this paper as [72]

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Authors
Kastner, S., Pinsk, M. A., De Weerd, P., Desimone, R., & Ungerleider, L. G.
Affiliations
National Institutes of Health (US)
Venue
Neuron
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
1999-04
Volume
22
Issue
4
Pages
751-761
ISSN
0896-6273 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W2096955942
Cited by
1,622
References
61
Citations by year
2026: 11 · 2025: 49 · 2024: 39 · 2023: 44 · 2022: 52 · 2021: 50 · 2020: 44 · 2019: 56 · 2018: 46 · 2017: 55 · 2016: 53 · 2015: 72 · 2014: 65 · 2013: 92 · 2012: 71
FWCI
30.31
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Neuron (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Visual perception and processing mechanisms
  • Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition › Visual Attention and Saliency Detection
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies
Keywords
visual attention, covert attention, top-down modulation, visual cortex, extrastriate cortex, expectations, frontoparietal network, attentional bias, distractor suppression, frontal cortex, parietal cortex
MeSH terms
Attention, Brain Mapping, Frontal Lobe, Humans, Parietal Lobe, Photic Stimulation, Visual Cortex

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