Subcortical connectivity correlates selectively with attention's effects on spatial choice bias.

ABSTRACT: Neural mechanisms of attention are extensively studied in the neocortex; comparatively little is known about how subcortical regions contribute to attention. The superior colliculus (SC) is an evolutionarily conserved, subcortical (midbrain) structure that has been implicated in controlling visuospatial attention. Yet how the SC contributes mechanistically to attention remains unknown. We investigated the role of the SC in attention, combining model-based psychophysics, diffusion imaging, and tractography in human participants. Specifically, we asked whether the SC contributes to enhancing sensitivity (d') to attended information, or whether it contributes to biasing choices (criteria) in favor of attended information. We tested human participants on a multialternative change detection tas

SUBMITTER: Sreenivasan V 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6765279 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature