Transcranial magnetic stimulation on the right dorsal attention network modulates the center-surround profile of the attentional focus.
Cereb Cortex
; 34(2)2024 01 31.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-38300180
ABSTRACT
Psychophysical observations indicate that the spatial profile of visuospatial attention includes a central enhancement around the attentional focus, encircled by a narrow zone of reduced excitability in the immediate surround. This inhibitory ring optimally amplifies relevant target information, likely stemming from top-down frontoparietal recurrent activity modulating early visual cortex activations. However, the mechanisms through which neural suppression gives rise to the surrounding attenuation and any potential hemispheric specialization remain unclear. We used transcranial magnetic stimulation to evaluate the role of two regions of the dorsal attention network in the center-surround profile the frontal eye field and the intraparietal sulcus. Participants performed a psychophysical task that mapped the entire spatial attentional profile, while transcranial magnetic stimulation was delivered either to intraparietal sulcus or frontal eye field on the right (Experiment 1) and left (Experiment 2) hemisphere. Results showed that stimulation of right frontal eye field and right intraparietal sulcus significantly changed the center-surround profile, by widening the inhibitory ring around the attentional focus. The stimulation on the left frontal eye field, but not left intraparietal sulcus, induced a general decrease in performance but did not alter the center-surround profile. Results point to a pivotal role of the right dorsal attention network in orchestrating inhibitory spatial mechanisms required to limit interference by surrounding distractors.
Palavras-chave
Texto completo:
1
Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Estimulação Magnética Transcraniana
/
Lateralidade Funcional
Limite:
Humans
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Cereb Cortex
Assunto da revista:
CEREBRO
Ano de publicação:
2024
Tipo de documento:
Article
País de afiliação:
Itália