Cited by 181Visual perception and processing mechanismsVisual Attention and Saliency DetectionNeural dynamics and brain function

Top-down attention switches coupling between low-level and high-level areas of human visual cortex

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Al-Aidroos, Naseem, Said, Christopher P., Turk-Browne, Nicholas B.·2012·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

Abstract

Top-down attention is an essential cognitive ability, allowing our finite brains to process complex natural environments by prioritizing information relevant to our goals. Previous evidence suggests that top-down attention operates by modulating stimulus-evoked neural activity within visual areas specialized for processing goal-relevant information. We show that top-down attention also has a separate influence on the background coupling between visual areas: adopting different attentional goals resulted in specific patterns of noise correlations in the visual system, whereby intrinsic activity in the same set of low-level areas was shared with only those high-level areas relevant to the current goal. These changes occurred independently of evoked activity, persisted without visual stimulation, and predicted behavioral success in deploying attention better than the modulation of evoked activity. This attentional switching of background connectivity suggests that attention may help synchronize different levels of the visual processing hierarchy, forming state-dependent functional pathways in human visual cortex to prioritize goal-relevant information.

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  • Domains of cognitive functioning are hierarchical, with basic sensory and perceptual processes at the bottom and executive functioning and cognitive control at the top.

    “These domains are hierarchical in nature, with the bottom referring to more basic sensory and perceptual processes and the top referring to elements of executive functioning and cognitive control.”

    From Domains of cognition and their assessment (2019) · cites this paper as [6]

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Authors
Al-Aidroos, N., Said, C. P., & Turk-Browne, N. B.
Affiliations
  • Princeton University (US)
  • New York University (US)
  • Department of Psychology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08540; and
Venue
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Published
2012-08-20
Volume
109
Issue
36
Pages
14675-14680
ISSN
  • 0027-8424 (ISSN-L)
  • 1091-6490
OpenAlex
W2041128576
Cited by
180
References
39
Citations by year
2026: 9 · 2025: 7 · 2024: 12 · 2023: 23 · 2022: 14 · 2021: 14 · 2020: 14 · 2019: 13 · 2018: 20 · 2017: 11 · 2016: 16 · 2015: 11 · 2014: 9 · 2013: 7
FWCI
4.42
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (publishedVersion)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
National Eye Institute (R01EY021755)
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 dynamics and brain function
Keywords
top-down attention, attentional shift, visual cortex, noise correlation, intrinsic activity, functional connectivity, hierarchical visual processing
MeSH terms
Adult, Attention, Cognition, Fixation, Ocular, Goals, Humans, Image Processing, Computer-Assisted, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Photic Stimulation, Visual Cortex, Visual Perception, Retinoscopy

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