Differential effects of central and peripheral cues on the reorienting of spatial attention

Abstract

Abstract Observen can be induced to direct attention to a peripheral location by the use of central and peripheral cues. On the basis of a previous experiment in which central cues were used to orient attention, we proposed a premotor hypothesis of attention (Rizzolatti et al., 1987). which postulates a strict Link between covert orienting of attention and the programming of ocular movements. In the present paper, we tried to extend the soope of the premotor hypothesis by using both central and peripheral cues. The stimulus display consisted of a small fixation cross and four boxes for stimulus presentation. The boxes were arranged horizontally above the lixation point. The subjects were asked to attend to one box or all boxes and to respond manually as fast as possible to the occurrence of a visual stimulus, regardless of its location. When only one box was cued, the imperative stimulus appeared in it 70% of the time, whereas it appeared in one of the non-cued boxes in the remaining cases (10% for each b...