Cited by 397Visual perception and processing mechanismsNeural and Behavioral Psychology StudiesVisual Attention and Saliency Detection

Modulation of visual processing by attention and emotion: Windows on causal interactions between human brain regions

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Vuilleumier, Patrik, Driver, Jon·2007·Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences

Abstract

Visual processing is not determined solely by retinal inputs. Attentional modulation can arise when the internal attentional state (current task) of the observer alters visual processing of the same stimuli. This can influence visual cortex, boosting neural responses to an attended stimulus. Emotional modulation can also arise, when affective properties (emotional significance) of stimuli, rather than their strictly visual properties, influence processing. This too can boost responses in visual cortex, as for fear-associated stimuli. Both attentional and emotional modulation of visual processing may reflect distant influences upon visual cortex, exerted by brain structures outside the visual system per se. Hence, these modulations may provide windows onto causal interactions between distant but interconnected brain regions. We review recent evidence, noting both similarities and differences between attentional and emotional modulation. Both can affect visual cortex, but can reflect influences from different regions, such as fronto-parietal circuits versus the amygdala. Recent work on this has developed new approaches for studying causal influences between human brain regions that may be useful in other cognitive domains. The new methods include application of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and electroencephalography (EEG) measures in brain-damaged patients to study distant functional impacts of their focal lesions, and use of transcranial magnetic stimulation concurrently with fMRI or EEG in the normal brain. Cognitive neuroscience is now moving beyond considering the putative functions of particular brain regions, as if each operated in isolation, to consider, instead, how distinct brain regions (such as visual cortex, parietal or frontal regions, or amygdala) may mutually influence each other in a causal manner.

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Crossref · 10.1098/rstb.2007.2092

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  • Amygdala modulates visual processing of threat cues.

    “For example, ample data suggest that amygdala modulates visual processing of threat cues (Vuilleumier and Driver, 2007; Vuilleumier, 2015).”

    From Top-Down Dysregulation—From ADHD to Emotional Instability (2016) · cites this paper as Vuilleumier and Driver, 2007

  • Increased attention to a stimulus, generated by either the amygdala or prefrontal cortical system, is associated with increased activation of the relevant sensory and association cortices in response to that stimulus.

    “In neural terms, increased attention to a stimulus, generated by either the amygdala or prefrontal cortical system, is associated with increased activation of the relevant sensory and association cortices in response to that stimulus (15).”
  • Automatic evaluation of the affective and motivational significance of stimuli plays a crucial role in anxiety.

    “Another bottom-up process, which plays a crucial role in anxiety, is automatic evaluation of the affective and motivational significance of stimuli (Pessoa & Adolphs, 2010;Pessoa, 2009;Vuilleumier & Driver, 2007;Vuilleumier, 2005); the functions of which are discussed later (Section 4.3.1).”

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Research works printed but not linked: 3

  1. Ashley, V., Vuilleumier, P. & Swick, D. 2003 Effects of orbitofrontal lesions on the recognition of emotional facial expressions. Abstract presented at Cognitive Neuroscience Society Meeting. New York, NY: MIT Press.
  2. Driver, J., Eimer, M., Macaluso, E. & Velzen, V. 2003 Neurobiology of human spatial attention; modulation, generation and integration. In Functional imaging of visual cognition: attention and performance, vol. XX (eds N. Kanwisher & J. Duncan). Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
  3. Karnath, H. O., Milner, A. D. & Vallar, G. 2003 The cognitive and neural bases of spatial neglect. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.

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Authors
Vuilleumier, P., & Driver, J.
Affiliations
  • University of Geneva (CH)
  • University College London (GB)
Corresponding author
Vuilleumier, Patrik
Venue
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences
Published
2007-03-29
Volume
362
Issue
1481
Pages
837-855
ISSN
  • 0962-8436 (ISSN-L)
  • 1471-2970
OpenAlex
W2108436924
Cited by
397
References
204
Citations by year
2026: 10 · 2025: 11 · 2024: 11 · 2023: 11 · 2022: 8 · 2021: 20 · 2020: 16 · 2019: 17 · 2018: 14 · 2017: 20 · 2016: 20 · 2015: 30 · 2014: 29 · 2013: 28 · 2012: 27
FWCI
2.40
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Archive ouverte UNIGE (University of Geneva) (submittedVersion)
  • UCL Discovery (University College London) (submittedVersion)
  • Archive ouverte UNIGE (University of Geneva) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
Funders
  • National Science Foundation
  • Wellcome Trust (066097)
  • Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung
  • Medical Research Council
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Visual perception and processing mechanisms
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies
  • Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition › Visual Attention and Saliency Detection
Keywords
attentional modulation, emotional modulation, visual processing, visual cortex, amygdala, lesion studies, transcranial magnetic stimulation
MeSH terms
Attention, Brain, Brain Mapping, Electroencephalography, Emotions, Humans, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Visual Perception, Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation

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