title: Attentional functions of parietal and frontal cortex.
abstract: A model of normal attentional function, based on the concept of competitive parallel processing, is used to compare attentional deficits following parietal and frontal lobe lesions. Measurements are obtained for visual processing speed, capacity of visual short-term memory (VSTM), spatial bias (bias to left or right hemifield) and top-down control (selective attention based on task relevance). The results show important differences, but also surprising similarities, in parietal and frontal lobe patients. For processing speed and VSTM, deficits are selectively associated with parietal lesions, in particular lesions of the temporoparietal junction. We discuss explanations based on either grey matter or white matter lesions. In striking contrast, measures of attentional weighting (spatial bias and top-down control) are predicted by simple lesion volume. We suggest that attentional weights reflect competition between broadly distributed object representations. Parietal and frontal mechanisms work together, both in weighting by location and weighting by task context.
authors.affiliation: MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, Cambridge, UK.
authors.forename: Polly V
authors.initials: PV
authors.lastname: Peers
authors.forename: Casimir J H
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Ludwig
authors.forename: Chris
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Rorden
authors.forename: Rhodri
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Cusack
authors.forename: Claudia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bonfiglioli
authors.forename: Claus
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bundesen
authors.forename: Jon
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Driver
authors.forename: Nagui
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Antoun
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Duncan
mesh_terms: D000161:Acoustic Stimulation; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001288:Attention / Q000502:physiology*; D001307:Auditory Perception / Q000502:physiology; D001932:Brain Neoplasms / Q000523:psychology; D002544:Cerebral Infarction / Q000523:psychology; D002755:Choice Behavior / Q000502:physiology; D004192:Discrimination, Psychological / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008570:Memory, Short-Term / Q000502:physiology; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D010296:Parietal Lobe / Q000502:physiology*; D010468:Perceptual Disorders / Q000503:physiopathology; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D017397:Prefrontal Cortex / Q000502:physiology*; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology; D021641:Recognition, Psychology / Q000502:physiology; D014796:Visual Perception / Q000502:physiology