title: Focused attention modulates visual responses in the primate prefrontal cortex.
abstract: Several current models propose an important role of the prefrontal cortex (PFC) in attention. To test the effects of attention in PFC, we recorded from PFC neurons in monkeys performing a task in which they had to attend to one hemifield and wait for a single stimulus that matched a previously presented cue. Neurons exhibited a slight decrease in their initial response and an enhanced activity late in the response to a stimulus at the cued location. The data demonstrate attentional effects on the activity of PFC neurons but they also show that single visual stimuli are initially represented in the activity of PFC neurons even when they are behaviorally irrelevant.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology and Pharmacology and Psychology, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario N6A 5C1, Canada.
authors.forename: Joseph F X
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: DeSouza
authors.forename: Stefan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Everling
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001288:Attention / Q000502:physiology*; D005403:Fixation, Ocular / Q000502:physiology*; D008253:Macaca mulatta; D008297:Male; D010775:Photic Stimulation / Q000379:methods*; D017397:Prefrontal Cortex / Q000502:physiology*; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology*