Attention deficits without cortical neuronal deficits
Open accessAbstract
The ability to process relevant stimuli selectively is a fundamental function of the primate visual system. The best-understood correlate of this function is the enhanced response of neurons in the visual cortex to attended stimuli. However, recent results show that the superior colliculus (SC), a midbrain structure, also has a crucial role in visual attention. It has been assumed that the SC acts through the same well-known mechanisms in the visual cortex. Here we tested this hypothesis by transiently inactivating the SC during a motion-change-detection task and measuring responses in two visual cortical areas. We found that despite large deficits in visual attention, the enhanced responses of neurons in the visual cortex to attended stimuli were unchanged. These results show that the SC contributes to visual attention through mechanisms that are independent of the classic effects in the visual cortex, demonstrating that other processes must have key roles in visual attention.
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In nonhuman primates, endogenous spatial attention is controlled by a trio of structures: FEF, LIP, and SC.
“For example, in the visual modality, evidence from neurophysiological studies in nonhuman primates indicates that endogenous spatial attention appears to be controlled by a trio of structures including the frontal eye field (FEF) in prefrontal cortex (PFC) (e.g. [26]), the lateral intraparietal area (LIP) in parietal cortex [27], and the superior colliculus (SC) (e.g. [28]).”
From Linking ADHD to the Neural Circuitry of Attention (2017) · cites this paper as [28]
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Research works printed but not linked: 3
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- [2]Lovejoy LP Krauzlis RJ Inactivation of primate superior colliculus impairs covert selection of signals for perceptual judgments Nature Neuroscience 2010 13 261 266 20023651 PMC3412590
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- Authors
- Zénon, A., & Krauzlis, R. J.
- Affiliations
- UCLouvain (BE)
- National Institutes of Health (US)
- Corresponding author
- Krauzlis, Richard J.
- Venue
- Nature
- Published
- 2012-09
- Volume
- 489
- Issue
- 7416
- Pages
- 434-437
- ISSN
- 0028-0836 (ISSN-L)
- 1476-4687
- PMC
- PMC3448852
- OpenAlex
- W1980419605
- Cited by
- 234
- References
- 39
- Citations by year
- 2026: 9 · 2025: 12 · 2024: 18 · 2023: 17 · 2022: 11 · 2021: 13 · 2020: 15 · 2019: 16 · 2018: 23 · 2017: 17 · 2016: 22 · 2015: 22 · 2014: 23 · 2013: 15 · 2012: 1
- FWCI
- 9.98
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- europepmc.org
- Licence
- www.springer.com/tdm (tdm)
- Locations
- Nature (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- HAL (submittedVersion)
- RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
- Digital Access to Libraries (Université catholique de Louvain (UCL), l'Université de Namur (UNamur) and the Université Saint-Louis (USL-B)) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- F. M. Kirby Foundation
- National Institutes of Health (Z99 EY999999)
- National Eye Institute
- 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
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Multisensory perception and integration
- Keywords
- visual attention, superior colliculus, visual cortex, attentional modulation, midbrain, rhesus monkeys, attention deficits, perceptual enhancement
- MeSH terms
- Animals, Attention, Bayes Theorem, Cues, Eye Movements, Interneurons, Macaca mulatta, Models, Neurological, Motion, Neurons, Photic Stimulation, Superior Colliculi, Visual Cortex
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