Spatial attention selectively alters visual cortical representation during target anticipation.

ABSTRACT: Attention enables us to efficiently and flexibly interact with the environment by prioritizing specific image locations and features in preparation for responding to stimuli. Using a concurrent psychophysics-fMRI experiment, we investigate how covert spatial attention modulates responses in human visual cortex before target onset and how it affects subsequent behavioral performance. Performance improves at cued locations and worsens at uncued locations compared to distributed attention, demonstrating a selective processing tradeoff. Pre-target BOLD responses in cortical visual field maps reveal two key changes: First, a stimulus-independent baseline shift, with increases near cued locations and decreases elsewhere, paralleling behavioral results. Second, a shift in population receptive fie

SUBMITTER: Tuncok E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12488897 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature