Direction of selective attention modulates direct current (DC) brain potentials

Abstract

Event Abstract Back to Event Direction of selective attention modulates direct current (DC) brain potentials Michael Trimmel1*, Julia Hintermayr1 and Karin Trimmel1 1 Medical University Vienna, Austria Facilitation of relevant information and inhibition of non-relevant stimuli are basic mechanisms of selective attention. They were investigated by the manipulation of the direction of attention by means of externally (intake of information) versus internally (rejection of environmental stimuli) directed attention. This study investigated effects of intake and of rejection tasks on brain direct current (DC) potential shifts, which are discussed as a sign of cortical activation/inhibition. It was hypothesized that rejection tasks are associated with more positive DC potential changes compared to intake tasks as an expression of cortical inhibition. Attention tasks consisted of a figural and a verbal task to take into account modality effects. Based on a 2 (Direction of Attention; intake vs. rejection)  2 (Modality; figural vs. verbal)  9 (Recording Location)  3 (Time on Task; 30-s blocks) repeated measures ANOVA design, DC potential shifts were analyzed at frontal (F3, Fz, F4), central (C3, Cz, C4), and parietal (P3, Pz, P4) locations. Forty-eight test persons performed 4 attention tasks: Intake figural (viewing and memorizing pictures), Intake verbal (Listening to and memorizing a text), Reject figural (completing figures in mind), and Reject verbal (creating words), all of a duration of 90 sec with a balanced order across test persons. Additionally, vertical EOG and skin potential were recorded to control for confounding factors. Rejection tasks were associated with more positive DC potential changes compared to intake tasks, this effect was independent of modality and recording location. Positive DC potential shifts during the rejection tasks, which are discussed as a sign of cortical inhibition, are suggested to be related to filtering out non task-relevant information. Keywords: Cognition, DC brain potentials Conference: XI International Conference on Cognitive Neuroscience (ICON XI), Palma, Mallorca, Spain, 25 Sep - 29 Sep, 2011. Presentation Type: Poster Presentation Topic: Poster Sessions: Neurophysiology of Cognition and Attention Citation: Trimmel M, Hintermayr J and Trimmel K (2011). Direction of selective attention modulates direct current (DC) brain potentials. Conference Abstract: XI International Conference on Cognitive Neuroscience (ICON XI). doi: 10.3389/conf.fnhum.2011.207.00436 Copyright: The abstracts in this collection have not been subject to any Frontiers peer review or checks, and are not endorsed by Frontiers. They are made available through the Frontiers publishing platform as a service to conference organizers and presenters. The copyright in the individual abstracts is owned by the author of each abstract or his/her employer unless otherwise stated. Each abstract, as well as the collection of abstracts, are published under a Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0 (attribution) licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) and may thus be reproduced, translated, adapted and be the subject of derivative works provided the authors and Frontiers are attributed. For Frontiers’ terms and conditions please see https://www.frontiersin.org/legal/terms-and-conditions. Received: 24 Nov 2011; Published Online: 28 Nov 2011. * Correspondence: Dr. Michael Trimmel, Medical University Vienna, Vienna, Austria, michael.trimmel@univie.ac.at Login Required This action requires you to be registered with Frontiers and logged in. To register or login click here. Abstract Info Abstract The Authors in Frontiers Michael Trimmel Julia Hintermayr Karin Trimmel Google Michael Trimmel Julia Hintermayr Karin Trimmel Google Scholar Michael Trimmel Julia Hintermayr Karin Trimmel PubMed Michael Trimmel Julia Hintermayr Karin Trimmel Related Article in Frontiers Google Scholar PubMed Abstract Close Back to top Javascript is disabled. Please enable Javascript in your browser settings in order to see all the content on this page.