title: Neural correlates of object-based attentional selection in human cortex.
abstract: Humans can attend to different objects independent of their spatial locations. While selecting an object has been shown to modulate object processing in high-level visual areas in occipitotemporal cortex, where/how behavioral importance (i.e., priority) for objects is represented is unknown. Here we examined the patterns of distributed neural activity during an object-based selection task. We measured brain activity with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), while participants viewed two superimposed, dynamic objects (left- and right-pointing triangles) and were cued to attend to one of the triangle objects. Enhanced fMRI response was observed for the attention conditions compared to a neutral condition, but no significant difference was found in overall response amplitude between two attention conditions. By using multi-voxel pattern classification (MVPC), however, we were able to distinguish the neural patterns associated with attention to different objects in early visual cortex (V1 to hMT+) and lateral occipital complex (LOC). Furthermore, distinct multi-voxel patterns were also observed in frontal and parietal areas. Our results demonstrate that object-based attention has a wide-spread modulation effect along the visual hierarchy and suggest that object-specific priority information is represented by patterned neural activity in the dorsal frontoparietal network.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA; Cognitive Science Program, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA.
authors.forename: Youyang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hou
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA; Cognitive Science Program, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA; Neuroscience Program, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA. Electronic address: tsliu@msu.edu.
authors.forename: Taosheng
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Liu
mesh_terms: D001288:Attention / Q000502:physiology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000502:physiology*; D053483:Eye Movement Measurements; D005260:Female; D005625:Frontal Lobe / Q000502:physiology; D059907:Functional Neuroimaging; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D009778:Occipital Lobe / Q000502:physiology; D010296:Parietal Lobe / Q000502:physiology; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D014793:Visual Cortex / Q000502:physiology; D014796:Visual Perception / Q000502:physiology*