Mechanisms of visual attention in the human cortex.

Publication Year
2000

Type

Journal Article
Abstract
A typical scene contains many different objects that, because of the limited processing capacity of the visual system, compete for neural representation. The competition among multiple objects in visual cortex can be biased by both bottom-up sensory-driven mechanisms and top-down influences, such as selective attention. Functional brain imaging studies reveal that, both in the absence and in the presence of visual stimulation, biasing signals due to selective attention can modulate neural activity in visual cortex in several ways. Although the competition among stimuli for representation is ultimately resolved within visual cortex, the source of top-down biasing signals derives from a network of areas in frontal and parietal cortex.
Journal
Annu Rev Neurosci
Volume
23
Pages
315-41
ISSN Number
0147-006X
Alternate Journal
Annu. Rev. Neurosci.
PMID
10845067