title: Rapid targeting followed by sustained deployment of visual spatial attention.
abstract: We investigated preparatory attention processes when a spatial discrimination was required at a cued location, by measuring electroencephalography following a central symbolic cue to deploy spatial attention. Electroencephalography activity in response to the cue revealed three cue-related activations: an early-onset positivity following the P1 at posterior scalp sites contralateral to the cued location, followed by cue-related frontal scalp activity and later-onset sustained activity at posterior scalp sites contralateral to the cued location. The early contralateral positivity may reflect rapid targeting of the cued location. Our results also extend the findings of cue-related frontal activity followed by posterior activity contralateral to the cued location, found with nonspatial feature discriminations, to a task requiring a spatial discrimination.
authors.affiliation: Dynamic Neuroimaging Laboratory, Department of Radiology, University of California, San Francisco, California, USA. greg.simpson@radiology.ucsf.edu
authors.forename: Gregory V
authors.initials: GV
authors.lastname: Simpson
authors.forename: Corby L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Dale
authors.forename: Tracy L
authors.initials: TL
authors.lastname: Luks
authors.forename: William L
authors.initials: WL
authors.lastname: Miller
authors.forename: Walter
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Ritter
authors.forename: John J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Foxe
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001288:Attention / Q000502:physiology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D003463:Cues; D004569:Electroencephalography / Q000379:methods; D005074:Evoked Potentials, Visual / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D007839:Functional Laterality / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010775:Photic Stimulation / Q000379:methods; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology*; D013028:Space Perception / Q000502:physiology*