Neural basis for priming of pop-out during visual search revealed with fMRI.

Full Abstract

Maljkovic and Nakayama first showed that visual search efficiency can be influenced by priming effects. Even "pop-out" targets (defined by unique color) are judged quicker if they appear at the same location and/or in the same color as on the preceding trial, in an unpredictable sequence. Here, we studied the potential neural correlates of such priming in human visual search using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). We found that repeating either the location or the color of a singleton target led to repetition suppression of blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) activity in brain regions traditionally linked with attentional control, including bilateral intraparietal sulci. This indicates that the attention system of the human brain can be "primed," in apparent analogy to repetition-suppression effects on activity in other neural systems. For repetition of target color but not location, we also found repetition suppression in inferior temporal areas that may be associated with color processing, whereas repetition of target location led to greater reduction of activation in contralateral inferior parietal and frontal areas, relative to color repetition. The frontal eye fields were also implicated, notably when both target properties (color and location) were repeated together, which also led to further BOLD decreases in anterior fusiform cortex not seen when either property was repeated alone. These findings reveal the neural correlates for priming of pop-out search, including commonalities, differences, and interactions between location and color repetition. fMRI repetition-suppression effects may arise in components of the attention network because these settle into a stable "attractor state" more readily when the same target property is repeated than when a different attentional state is required.

Learn Faster Today Improve your study skills

Author information

Author/s: Kristjánsson, Arni (A); Vuilleumier, Patrik (P); Schwartz, Sophie (S); Macaluso, Emiliano (E); Driver, Jon (J);

Affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Iceland, Reykjavík, Iceland. ak(-atsign-)hi.is

Grants: (Agency:Wellcome Trust)

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Journal: Cerebral cortex (New York, N.Y. : 1991) (Cereb Cortex), published in United States. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2007-Jul; vol 17 (issue 7) : pp 1612-24

Dates: Created 2007/06/11; Completed 2007/08/08; Revised 2007/08/13;

PMID: 16959868, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 12/26/2008)

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

External Links for this article (including full text providers, if available):

Click Electronic Full-text Provider Links to see options for finding the electronic full text links to this article. Note there may be a subscription or fee required for access to the full text. See our FAQ for information on finding FREE full text articles.

This article may also be located in paper journal collections available in many libraries. Use the Journal and Publication Information above to find the full article.

MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

Male
Occipital Lobe - physiology
Pattern Recognition, Visual - physiology
Perceptual Masking - physiology
Psychomotor Performance - physiology
Reading
Temporal Lobe - physiology

These are the highest related articles currently in the database:

See 100+ related articles.