Differential activation of frontoparietal attention networks by social and symbolic spatial cues.

ABSTRACT: Perception of both gaze-direction and symbolic directional cues (e.g. arrows) orient an observer's attention toward the indicated location. It is unclear, however, whether these similar behavioral effects are examples of the same attentional phenomenon and, therefore, subserved by the same neural substrate. It has been proposed that gaze, given its evolutionary significance, constitutes a 'special' category of spatial cue. As such, it is predicted that the neural systems supporting spatial reorienting will be different for gaze than for non-biological symbols. We tested this prediction using functional magnetic resonance imaging to measure the brain's response during target localization in which laterally presented targets were preceded by uninformative gaze or arrow cues. Reaction times w

SUBMITTER: Engell AD 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2999758 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature