title: Do ERP components triggered during attentional orienting represent supramodal attentional control?
abstract: Lateralized ERP components triggered during cued shifts of spatial attention (anterior directing attention negativity [ADAN], late directing attention positivity [LDAP]) have been observed during visual, auditory, and tactile attention tasks, suggesting that these components reflect supramodal attentional control processes. This interpretation has recently been called into question by the finding that the ADAN is absent in response to auditory attention cues. Here we demonstrate that ADAN and LDAP components are reliably elicited in a purely unimodal auditory attention task where auditory cues are followed by auditory imperative stimuli. The fact that the ADAN is not restricted to task contexts where visual or tactile stimuli are relevant is consistent with the hypothesis that this component is linked to supramodal attentional control.
authors.affiliation: School of Psychology, Birkbeck College, University of London, London, UK. e.seiss@surrey.ac.uk
authors.forename: Ellen
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Seiss
authors.forename: Elena
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Gherri
authors.forename: Alison F
authors.initials: AF
authors.lastname: Eardley
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Eimer
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001288:Attention / Q000502:physiology*; D003627:Data Interpretation, Statistical; D004569:Electroencephalography; D005071:Evoked Potentials / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009949:Orientation / Q000502:physiology*; D010775:Photic Stimulation