Cited by 148Visual perception and processing mechanismsMultisensory perception and integrationVisual Attention and Saliency Detection

Control from below: the role of a midbrain network in spatial attention

Open access
Knudsen, Eric I.·2011·European Journal of Neuroscience

Abstract

Spatial attention enables the brain to analyse and evaluate information selectively from a specific location in space, a capacity essential for any animal to behave adaptively in a complex world. We usually think of spatial attention as being controlled by a frontoparietal network in the forebrain. However, emerging evidence shows that a midbrain network also plays a critical role in controlling spatial attention. Moreover, the highly differentiated, retinotopic organization of the midbrain network, especially in birds, makes it amenable to detailed analysis with modern techniques that can elucidate circuit, cellular and synaptic mechanisms of attention. The following review discusses the role of the midbrain network in controlling attention, the neural circuits that support this role and current knowledge about the computations performed by these circuits.

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Crossref · 10.1111/j.1460-9568.2011.07696.x

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  • Current evidence from animal studies is consistent with cholinergic signaling contributing preferentially to exogenous attention.

    “Current evidence from animal studies is consistent with cholinergic signaling contributing preferentially to exogenous attention [46]”

    From Linking ADHD to the Neural Circuitry of Attention (2017) · cites this paper as [46]

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Research works printed but not linked: 3

  1. Knudsen EI Mangun GR in press Midbrain and forebrain systems for bottom-up control of spatial attention Neuroscience of attention: attention control and selection Oxford University Press New York
  2. Munoz DP Schall JD WCH Moschovakis AK 2003 Concurrent distrubuted control of saccade initiation in the frontal eye fields and superior colliculus The oculomotor system: new approaches for studying sensorimotor integration CRC Press
  3. Stein BE Meredith MA 1993 The Merging of the Senses MIT Press Cambridge, MA

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Authors
Knudsen, E. I.
Affiliations
Stanford Medicine (US)
Corresponding author
Knudsen, Eric I.
Venue
European Journal of Neuroscience
Publisher
Wiley
Published
2011-06
Volume
33
Issue
11
Pages
1961-1972
ISSN
  • 0953-816X (ISSN-L)
  • 1460-9568
OpenAlex
W2161202549
Cited by
148
References
140
Citations by year
2026: 5 · 2025: 7 · 2024: 8 · 2023: 8 · 2022: 14 · 2021: 9 · 2020: 11 · 2019: 5 · 2018: 7 · 2017: 11 · 2016: 16 · 2015: 11 · 2014: 17 · 2013: 7 · 2012: 9
FWCI
0.98
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • European Journal of Neuroscience (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
Funders
  • National Institutes of Health
  • Goddard Space Flight Center
  • National Eye Institute (R01EY019179)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Visual perception and processing mechanisms
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Multisensory perception and integration
  • Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition › Visual Attention and Saliency Detection
Keywords
spatial attention, retinotopic organization, birds, neural circuits, attentional control, frontoparietal network, synaptic mechanisms
MeSH terms
Animals, Attention, Mesencephalon, Nerve Net, Neural Pathways, Space Perception

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