Activation of Right Ventral Prefrontal Cortex Using a Predictive Cue during Visual Spatial Orienting of Attentional Processes: An fMRI Study

Chunlin Li,Jinglong Wu

doi:10.1155/2012/961342

Abstract

Visual spatial orienting of attention can be investigated with location-cueing paradigms in which a cue provides correct information about the location of the upcoming target. Target detection is facilitated when the target appears at the expected cued location. In this study, we examined the brain activation of the spatial orienting response based on attentional “benefits.” During an fMRI experiment, two types of attentional tasks were used. Both predictive and nonpredictive cues were used and followed by an upcoming target. Behavioral data showed a faster reaction time with the predictive cue when compared with that of the nonpredictive cue. The fMRI results of these two tasks were compared, whereby isolated brain areas activated when the targets appeared at the attended position after a specific spatial expectation was induced by the cue were compared with when equivalent targets appeared after no spatial expectation was induced by the cue. The results showed that the right ventral prefrontal cortex was activated to a similar degree as the dorsal frontoparietal spatial attentional network.

Highlights

The visual spatial orienting of attention experimental paradigm is a widely studied model that was first developed by Posner [1] for studying the covert visual spatial orienting of attention
We noted that bilateral superior parietal lobe (SPL, BA7) and inferior parietal lobe (IPL) (BA40) were activated at a similar level as the bilateral frontal cortex, including the frontal eye field (FEF), dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), and ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (VLPFC) during the Directional task
small-volume correction (SVC) was performed for correcting the contrast result of the Directional task versus the Nondirectional task, which indicated that the bilateral SPL, IPS, FEF, right DLPFC, and right VLPFC were significantly activated

Summary

Introduction

The visual spatial orienting of attention experimental paradigm is a widely studied model that was first developed by Posner [1] for studying the covert visual spatial orienting of attention. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies have discovered a dorsal frontoparietal network, which includes the inferior parietal lobe (IPL) and the frontal eye field (FEF), and this network is involved in visual spatial orienting of attention [2,3,4]. In these goal-directed attention paradigms (spatial endogenous orienting of attention paradigm), a visual cue is usually presented centrally and provides a spatial prediction of the upcoming target [5].

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Conclusion