(08) Attention 2 - Dec 14, 2015

Topics addressed in the lecture:

The correlates of attentional modulation of sensory information processing in visual cortex.
Sensory information processing as a highly evolved and very powerful feed-forward system
Varieties of attention
Working definition of attention
Designing experimental paradigms for investigating attentional modulation
Effects of spatial attention on neuronal responses of primate extrastriate visual cortex

Topics addressed in the seminar:

The effect of feature-based attention on neuronal responses (for single neutrons and across populations of neutrons) in primate extrastriate visual cortex - the feature-similarity gain model of attention
The effect of spatial attention on the profile of receptive fields in primate extrastriate visual cortex and the presumed perceptual consequences for the perception of object size

Questions you should be able to answer after the lecture:

What is meant by 'top-down' and 'bottom-up' in cortical sensory information processing?
What is the working definition of attention presented in the lecture?
Define 'spatial' and 'feature-based' attention

Questions you should be able to answer after the seminar:

Which neurons are increasing their activity when feature-based attention is switched from upward to downward visual motion?
What happens to the receptive field profile of a neutron in primate cortical area MT when spatial attention is switched from the outside to the right half of the receptive field?
How is the perceived size of an object changed when spatial attention is directed right next to it?

You should know the following terms and concepts after the lecture:

You should know the following terms and concepts after the seminar

Learning objectives (Lernziele) - Lecture:

Sensory information processing is a highly evolved and very powerful feed-forward system. In primate visual cortex it consists of a hierarchy of areas that consist of increasingly selective neurons.
In higher mammals this feed-forward system is influenced by top-down attentional influences that cause a selective modulation of sensory information processing based on the behavioral relevance of a stimulus.
The modulation can be directed under automatic or voluntary control. Voluntary visual attention can be directed to a location in space or a non- spatial feature (such as a particular direction of visual motion).

Learning objectives (Lernziele) - Seminar:

To understand how an effect of feature-based attention can be shown at the level of single neurons.
The similarity of spatial and feature-based attentional effects.
To understand how the feature-similarity gain model of attention predicts the consequences of feature-based attentional modulation on the population response of an unattended vs. attended stimulus.
To understand how the effect of spatial attention on receptive field profiles in visual cortex can be investigated.

Last update of this page: Feb 16, 2016