scholarly journals Thalamo-cortical interactions define functional dissociations across the macaque attention network

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ian C. Fiebelkorn ◽  
Mark A. Pinsk ◽  
Sabine Kastner

ABSTRACTSpatial attention is discontinuous, sampling behaviorally relevant locations in theta-rhythmic cycles (3–6 Hz). Underlying this rhythmic sampling are intrinsic theta oscillations in frontal and parietal cortices that provide a clocking mechanism for two alternating attentional states that are associated with either engagement at the presently attended location (and enhanced perceptual sensitivity) or disengagement (and diminished perceptual sensitivity). It has remained unclear, however, how these theta-dependent states are coordinated across the large-scale network that directs spatial attention. The pulvinar is a candidate for such coordination, having been previously shown to regulate cortical activity. We therefore examined pulvino-cortical interactions during theta-rhythmic sampling by simultaneously recording from FEF, LIP, and the pulvinar. Neural activity propagated from (i) pulvinar to cortex during periods of engagement and (ii) from cortex to pulvinar during periods of disengagement. A rhythmic reweighting of pulvino-cortical interactions thus defines functional dissociations in the macaque attention network.

2005 ◽  
pp. 29-34 ◽  
Author(s):  
M-Marsel Mesulam ◽  
Dana M. Small ◽  
Rik Vandenberghe ◽  
Darren R. Gitelman ◽  
Anna C. Nobre

MIS Quarterly ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 40 (4) ◽  
pp. 849-868 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kunpeng Zhang ◽  
◽  
Siddhartha Bhattacharyya ◽  
Sudha Ram ◽  
◽  
...  

2014 ◽  
Vol 26 (7) ◽  
pp. 1377-1389 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bo-Cheng Kuo ◽  
Mark G. Stokes ◽  
Alexandra M. Murray ◽  
Anna Christina Nobre

In the current study, we tested whether representations in visual STM (VSTM) can be biased via top–down attentional modulation of visual activity in retinotopically specific locations. We manipulated attention using retrospective cues presented during the retention interval of a VSTM task. Retrospective cues triggered activity in a large-scale network implicated in attentional control and led to retinotopically specific modulation of activity in early visual areas V1–V4. Importantly, shifts of attention during VSTM maintenance were associated with changes in functional connectivity between pFC and retinotopic regions within V4. Our findings provide new insights into top–down control mechanisms that modulate VSTM representations for flexible and goal-directed maintenance of the most relevant memoranda.


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